Crimson Stain
by Ravyn
Summary: Haunted by a past that chases her every footstep, Kaoru finds refuge with the friendship of a certain man. When her past strikes back he will do anything to protect her. Even drawing her into the shadows of his world. BK
1. Chapter 1

Well, I said it would be up soon. I really have no paitence, I swear. Alright, for those of you who have been wanting to know when Amber is going to be updated; soon. I am about 1/3 of the way into it. The problem is keeping all the characters in character. _rolls eyes_ Anyway, soon. 

This fanfic is not my normal cup of tea, but I enjoy branching off. Its only goign to have three-four chapters, so expect the chapters to be DAMN long. (the story itself is already at sixty pages) so hopefully you all enjoy this. This one was written more for the idea of attempt of it, and for fun than for anything else.

A thank you to Kristen for beta-reading this chapter!

Ravyn

**Warning: This story will contain violence, sex, and allusions to more violence and sex. When I say mature I mean it!**

Disclaimer: Do I have to? sighs I do not own Kenshin. _sulks

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Nineteen-year-old Kamiya Kaoru huddled herself into a tight, fetal position, and her body shook from both shock and pain. Her breathing was labored, as if a tight band was wrapped around her lungs.

Kaoru had hated only once before, and the source was still the same.

Her father.

Kaoru raised her bruised face and forced herself to think past the pain, past the hurt that was as emotional as it was physical. For now she was alone. Rolling to her knees, she coughed, her constricted lungs fighting past her half-hysterical sobs and her closing throat in an attempt to breathe.

Kaoru made a single, futile movement to crawl forward and collapsed as her wrist took too much weight off her damaged ribs. Broken, perhaps, or sprained if she was lucky. Her father. He had found her. After two years of running, of being so very careful, of never staying in the same place more than a month or two, she had been run down and taught the error of her ways.

Kaoru wept as she lay on the ground, the shards of her mother's favorite vase both shattered on the floor and embedded in her left leg. He hadn't always been so violent, or at least her earliest memories had blocked the hurt if he had. Everything had changed after her fifth birthday, when the men in business suits had come. She remembered her beautiful mothers pale face and the way her father's mouth have curved with the faintest of smiles. Her mother had died when she turned thirteen. Kaoru gritted her teeth and forced herself to rise to all fours. This wasn't the first time her father had beaten her so badly she could not move. But she would be _damned_ if it wasn't the last.

He would be back soon. She knew he was out drinking, certain of his daughter's submission. Between the vase, his fists, his feet, and whatever other object he had hit her with, he was sure she would be in the same huddled position as she had been when he left.

Not this time.

Kaoru thought about using the phone, but shook that idea off. He would be back soon, and she no had idea how long she had lain on the floor unconscious; it didn't matter. She had to get out of the apartment. Kaoru didn't even have the energy to grab her purse, relying on the twenty she had in her pocket. Stopping to lean against the wall of her small five-story apartment building, she forced herself to breathe. Dropping from the pain and shock in the hall was a sure way to get caught. Her ribs couldn't stand another kicking spree. Assuming he wouldn't attempt to kill her right out for her show of rebellion. Assuming he didn't plan on it anyway.

Looking at the elevator when she heard the familiar ding, Kaoru shuffled in. Reaching out with her left hand, her right still wasn't working properly, she punched the bottom floor button and waited, her concentration so intoned with her breathing that she almost missed the door opening. Forcing her spine straight, even though the movement brought tears to her eyes, she walked straight. She was thankful her long hair covered her face. It hid the stark bruises marring the left side of her face and the split lip she knew she would be sporting. It was hard to see out of one eye, and she wasn't sure she was walking in a straight line.

Opening the door she scanned the surrounding areas. She saw two or three people walking around, but she was thankful that she knew none of them. Raising her left hand she hailed a taxi and slide into the warmth of the vehicle. She never knew how she managed to tell him directions or how she managed to speak around her swollen mouth, but she managed; she just hoped one of them was home.

She must have dozed off, because she heard the faint calls of the driver and she looked up. She noticed the look in his eyes and felt a stirring of panic.

"Miss, do I need to take you to the hospital?" His words were soft, but held an undertone of worry that clenched her heart. Kaoru shook her head and handed him the twenty, not sure if it was too much or too little but not caring.

Raising her face to the apartment she knew at least three of them claimed as their own, Kaoru fought back the need to crawl into some dark place and cry. The fact that she was forced to go to them, looking like this, after all they had done for her already, broke her heart. Her pride was already shattered, torn into tatters too small to ever repair. It mattered little to her what they thought, only what they would feel.

Pity. Despair. Perhaps anger at her for getting herself caught. She didn't have the energy to go anywhere else. Her body was wavering with its need to shut down and heal. This wasn't the first time she had been beaten into shock; she knew the symptoms. If she was smart, she would find some dry, enclosed area and curl up and lick her wounds. She didn't feel smart. She wanted to collapse into someone's arms for once. She wanted to do the stupid thing. She would have to share her demons for this night, and while her stomach churned and rolled at the thought, even as her nails bit into her palms, she walked forward.

She was so used to being alone.

Shaking with the effort to stand straight she moved towards the tall building. Kaoru was not even sure anyone was there. Misao had called earlier and told Kaoru that they planned to catch a movie and asked her to come. Kaoru wished fiercely that she had. One of them always walked her to her door. Sano. Aoshi. Megumi. Misao. Kenshin. Her eyes slide closed at the last name, her breathing becoming erratic.

His reaction she feared the most.

She still did not know why they chose to reach out to her, in the small diner they all hung out at on occasion. Kaoru had begged and pleaded until she was finally given the job at the local hangout for teenagers. She knew what she looked like: slightly thinner than was healthy; eyes too large for her face, too old for her face; hair that needed a good washing; and clothing that looked like it was on its third wear between washings.

She wasn't even sure why they had been in that diner. Most of the occupants were high school kids blowing allowances, or college freshman checking in on their friends. Not five casually dressed adults, sitting in what was casual clothing to them, and nice threads to everyone else.

She didn't know it at the time, but they had all noticed her the moment she had walked in for her shift. Megumi had noticed her first. At the time she had been completing medical school and had recognized her thinness for what it was. Misao had been next to notice the girl who was too small for her clothing. She had replaced their waiter when she went on break, and they had been kind to her. The tip they had left had made her eyes sting with tears, and she had tucked it into her back pocket for an emergency.

It wasn't the last time they were at a table she waited on. She learned that Misao and Aoshi were engaged to be married once Misao turned twenty-one, and that Aoshi ran a very successful chain of business. His specialty was expensive spas, ranging from hotel to private, and he was slowly monopolizing the city dojos that were beginning to pick up in popularity.

Kenshin had been out of law school for three years and had been working with his uncle in their private practice. They were well enough known that even Kaoru knew their names, and she was again left wondering why they hung out in a diner that was shabby at best. She finally broke down and asked the cook, who had laughed at her. Marge was an older woman with more fat than muscle, but she was kind. She explained that Misao and Aoshi had been coming to the diner since Misao had skinned knees and that the others just sort of showed up along the way.

Slowly waiting on tables had turned into a movie with Misao and Megumi, to being invited over for dinner, to a great deal more activities than she had ever done before. She found herself pulled into their laughter and friendship, even when she knew it was a bad idea. It was as if they could read what made her uncomfortable and approached things gingerly, as if afraid she would spook.

She was, by far, the youngest of the group. Misao was a close second, but she never felt uneducated or stupid around them. Running from her father had given her lots of time to hide out. The occasional time she had the money to rent a hotel, she would turn the TV to the History Channel or National Geographic and leave it there. She would spend hours hiding out in public libraries when her father was too close for comfort, and eventually she had gotten her GED. It had been under an assumed name and an assumed background, but the twinge of guilt that curled in her tummy when she created identities that said she had it when she didn't, faded.

It was with Misao and Megumi's urging that she got herself enrolled in classes. She had struggled hard to pass the entrance exams, but she was in. She was close to completing her first year, and even though she had to take out student loans, she was happy. The only glitch in her heart was the idea that it wouldn't last. And Kenshin.

She had never been able to help her attraction to him. He was just…he never spoke a harsh word with her, was always careful of her feelings, and it had been so long since someone so handsome had treated the way that Kenshin treated her. Like a lady. Sometimes his eyes would glint with golden sparks when he thought she wasn't watching, and she would melt a little on the inside. When her instincts were screaming at her to flee, the look in his eyes would tempt her to stay, even if she was just imagining it and pretending to see something that wasn't really there, a youthful hope that bloomed even as she attempted to kill it.

Kaoru wavered a bit unsteadily as she pushed the key into the lock on the gates of the apartment complex they lived in. She never knew how they managed to get into a gated apartment complex but she supposed that it had something to do with the income. Aoshi, Sano, and Kenshin took up an entire floor of their building. It rose out of the skyline in an impressive flare, and she raised her tired eyes to see if there were any lights on. Pocketing the key, '_in case you should ever need us_,' and headed toward the building with as much of a steady pace as she could manage. The place was well lit and her bangs had never been more needed. The guard at the entrance had already given her an assessing look, as if he could see past her shaky mask.

Stumbling slightly as her vision wavered from the strain of walking without a limp and breathing past her aching ribs, she pushed open the door to the complex and breathed deeply. That hurt. It was late, close to midnight, and generally there weren't any loiters. Most people were still out partying and wouldn't be returning for another few hours, or at least not until the last bar shut down. Kaoru was thankful, because she was aware of her torn clothing, the blood running down her leg. She was just thanking whatever god was out there that the guard outside hadn't done more than give her a doubtful look.

Gritting her teeth she headed towards the elevators. Once she had stayed in an apartment building that turned the elevators off at night to conserve energy, and she felt her eyes spring with thankful tears that this wasn't the case here. Walking up several dozen flights of stairs would have put her into a coma. Kaoru cradled her wrist to her body as she stood inside the elevator. It ached and burned and she was almost positive that her father had broken it. Her left ankle was starting to drag with the burn of its injury. Licking dry lips, she winced at the taste of blood. Her chattering teeth were a possible sign of shock. Or panic. She was shaking with as much panic as she was with fear and pain. She wasn't sure she could do this. Once she knocked on that door and asked for his help…there was no going back. She was going to have to let him into her painful past and she wasn't sure how to do that.

Kaoru leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, knowing the tears that were falling down her face did nothing to aid her appearance. She should have gone to a hospital. She was bleeding and broken and in pain. Who was she kidding? They would have found her there after a few days. Especially if they had gotten worried and found the situation her single-room apartment was in. This is what she got for not taking up Misao on the offer to move in with her until she could afford something better or the wedding, whatever would come first.

The elevator dinged and she stumbled into the foray before his apartment. The hall was starting to blur and she absently noted that as things were starting to get blurry they hurt less. Her stomach clenched as she thought about his reaction when he finally opened that door. Reaching the knocker with trembling hands, she managed one faint, weak sound before her right wrist caused her to see spots. Kaoru wasn't sure how long she stood there, trembling, waiting for any sign that someone had heard her. It was only the sounds of footsteps approaching the door that kept her upright. The direct clicking of the lock didn't quite register in her mind, but Kaoru was more than aware of the violet gaze awash in gold starring at her.

"I…" Kaoru closed her eyes tightly. "I didn't know where else to go." Her voice was faint, a mere thread, but he heard it. Kaoru missed the way the violet drained from his eyes, the tightening of his jaw and the way his fingers pressed hard into the doorframe.

"Kaoru." That was all. Her eyes flew open, and she stared at his face. His bangs covered his eyes, but there was no condemnation in the line of his mouth, at least not for her. Something like relief fluttered in her chest as she fainted dead away.

He caught her on reflex. She fell limply into his arms and he swore in every language he knew as he shifted her. If the panting, anguished breaths she had been taking meant anything, then she had messed her ribs up, or perhaps had separated cartilage on her sternum. He was thankful he had pulled a shirt on and left his shoes next to the door. He cradled her protectively against himself as he shoved his feet in as quickly as he could and grabbed his keys.

She was bleeding everywhere.

Ignoring the urge to rush, to race down the stairs, he took careful, deliberate steps that would keep from jarring her awake. Unconsciousness was probably the best place for her. He didn't even dare assess the damage himself in case there was internal bleeding. He didn't know what Kaoru had gotten herself into, but he hoped the other person involved looked worse. Because if he didn't, then by the time he was finished with him there wasn't going to be enough left of him for the police to identify.

_You're going to be alright_.

He chanted it in his head as he headed towards his car.

* * *

Misao hummed to herself as she balanced on her four-inch heels, listening to her phone messages, and grinned at the sight of a partially drunk Sano attempting to talk his wife into letting him take her home early. Megumi was having none of it, for reasons that Misao could only guess to. Perhaps her friend was just attempting to up the ante some.

Whatever reason it was, it was going to have to wait. Kenshin's cool, clipped baritone flooded into her ears with the deft precision that suggested he was furious. Misao's wide ocean gaze rounded into small dinner plates and her pink lips parted with surprise. Once the message was finished, she listened to it again just to make sure it wasn't someone with the wrong number who just happened to sound like Kenshin and knew a Kaoru. When the message stayed the same and the furious tone of his voice never changed, she snapped her phone shut and practically ran to where her friends were admiring the inside of the theater.

"Aoshi!" Misao wailed as she stumbled a bit on her shoes. He caught her on reflex, the arch to his eyebrow asking why she was running when she could barely walk in those shoes, but she didn't give him time to berate her. "Kaoruisinthehospital! Shewasattacked!" Misao babbled furiously.

Aoshi blinked at her slowly as his brain attempted to digest what she had just spat out so fast that only her lover or a computer could make sense of it. She could tell the instant he understood what she was wailing because his jaw tightened and the look she had only seen a handful of times since their retirement flared in his eyes.

"What hospital?" He asked as he turned to gather her coat into his arms and handed her a purse. "Misao?"

Misao was already moving. Her small hands were frantically waving as she informed Sano and Megumi of the situation, and the shocked expression turned into anger. They nodded once and gathered their own things. Aoshi was thankful that they had driven separate cars, because the expression on Misao's small face suggested that she had no desire to head to the hospital just yet.

"Come on!" Misao said as she dragged her lover off. "Megumi and Sano are going to go and make sure that Kenshin doesn't kill anyone and I want to go and check out her apartment."

Aoshi raised a brow. "Is that were Kenshin found her?"

Misao shook her head in the negative. "No. The message said she showed up at the apartment and fainted. However, she had the night off from the diner and I know for certain she planned on spending the night curled up with a good book after she finished working on that paper of hers. She is so close to finishing out the semester with straight A's! She was doing so well in her first two semesters. She has been attempting to kill herself with the hours she was taking, attempting to cram all her general requirements into three semesters. I am babbling. Why haven't you shut me up yet?" Her voice was breathy and furious as she moved to the car.

"Better to get it out now," Aoshi calmly informed her, "than when you are with Kaoru; she is going to be hurting. I take it Kenshin isn't sure if was just a mugging or if it was directed at Kaoru?" Aoshi had never been completely sure that Kaoru wasn't running from something but had stopped bringing it up when she had become very uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

Misao nodded and bit her lip in tense silence. The only thing Aoshi could pick up on her Chi was her worry for her friends, the deadly intent to get even, and a cold desire for whoever did this to her friend to still be at the apartment. Aoshi agreed with the first two but doubted they would get so lucky at the last. Once they pulled into the parking lot in front of Kaoru's ramshackled apartment place, they exited the vehicle, all their earlier camaraderie and banter gone from their faces.

"I always told that girl that she needed to move out," Misao quietly growled as she stomped up the stairs. Kaoru didn't live that far from the bottom and the elevators had the habit of breaking down. "I just hope there is something there we can use."

As it turned out there was quite a bit.

Misao stood in the door way, her eyes taken in the scene of destruction with a tight jaw. There was shattered glass everywhere. The little coffee table they had bought at the flea market in one of the best days of shopping she could remember lay broken on the floor. The different pictures she had taken over the past year were torn and littered the floor. The single picture Misao could remember seeing of Karou's long deceased mother was torn in half and Misao frowned at that.

"They tore the pictures."

"This wasn't a burglary. See what her bedroom looks like." Aoshi ordered as he picked through the clutter on the floor and bent over broken picture frames to examine the pictures, pulling a pair of gloves out of his pocked. "Try not to touch anything." Misao nodded and slipped inside and came back out with a frown.

"The only things touched were the pictures and her collection of little figurines she said her mother gave her. The ones Megumi and I gave her haven't been touched." Misao reported quietly. Kaoru collected little kitten figurines and Sano had been delighted at the idea of having an easy birthday, Christmas and random present option. That man had no imagination.

Aoshi was holding half a picture with a frown on his face. "What did Kaoru say her last name was?" His voice held a note that Misao recognized, and a flicker of irritation flared in her stomach.

Misao raised a brow. "Aoshi! You have been around the girl as long as I have and you don't remember her name? How heartless of you!" There was a scolding edge to her voice as she glared at her lover. It was ridiculous of her to think that Aoshi didn't remember her name; he remembered the name of all the various shades of her eye shadows and their corresponding numbers, just so he could say he did.

"Humor me."

"Kasshin. Kasshin Kaoru," Misao replied exasperated.

Aoshi raised a brow and held up half of the picture that used to have a younger Kaoru and a beaming older woman who looked just like her in it. "This says her name is Kamiya," Aoshi quietly replied. There was a wealth of meaning in his words and it took a moment for her to digest them.

Misao went still as her brain worked. "Why would she lie about that?" Again, her question was more of her thinking out loud, because there were five or so reasons she could think of off the top of her head, and at least a dozen more that she could come up with.

Aoshi quirked a brow. "Probably for the same reasons this place is so trashed out. Come on. Let's get to the hospital and tell Himura what we found." He didn't need to express the idea that Kenshin would be getting antsy, and when he was antsy, people had the nasty habit of dying. Or of being mentally and emotionally bruised from the tongue lashing he gave when he was really worked up.

Misao pursed her lips and nodded.

* * *

By the time Megumi and Sano arrived at the hospital, they were letting visitors in. Not that it would have stopped them even if they hadn't, but the look the nurse gave them when they declared they were her family had been disbelieving. It hadn't mattered too much, because the older, grandmotherly woman had winked at them and given them the room number. It wasn't surprising that Kenshin was parked in the chair next to the bed, watching the girl breathe.

Kaoru looked horrible; above her left eyebrow, there was a butterfly bandage, and a series of bruises marred her small face. Her bottom lip was busted and had one careful stitch. Her right wrist was incased in a cast and her entire upper body was swathed with heavy white bandages that suggested she had broken or bruised ribs. Her left leg was out from under the covers, and several cuts were stitched. Her ankle was tightly wrapped in an ace bandage, but the bruising was crawling up her calf.

"What happened?" Megumi rasped out in surprise as she shut the door behind her, her eyes never leaving Kaoru's pale face. There was still blood on her cheek and along her brow. She had expected the girl to be sedated and possibly have a few stitches; she hadn't expected Kaoru to look like she had spent three minutes in the ring counting the flying birdies.

"I don't know," Kenshin's voice rumbled, and Megumi raised her eyes to see him sitting next to the bed, his eyes never leaving the slow rise and fall of Kaoru's chest. There was a quite intensity to him that she hadn't seen outside of the courtroom in years. "We are going to find out." There was a hard edge to Kenshin's mouth and Megumi went and began to look over Kaoru's chart.

"I take she is sedated?" Sano asked quietly as he stood at the foot of the bed. Kenshin simply nodded, his mouth thinning even more if it was possible. "Aoshi and Misao went to see if there was anything at the apartment. They should be getting here soon."

Kenshin raised his eyes and Sano wasn't surprised to see hot flecks of burning amber rage heating the normally calm violet. "Good."

Megumi looked up. "They aren't going to let any of us stay overnight, not until she has been here for a few days or so. Our excuse of being family isn't going to cut it. Were…"

"I will be here." Kenshin said calmly, sitting back and bracing his chin on his hands as he watched them. "As her husband, they won't dare kick me out."

Megumi's mouth parted in a silent O and she blinked before nodding. "You're right; they will need your approval. I take it Aoshi is going to be taking care of forging the marriage license and so on?" She frowned. "You don't think this was just a common mugging, do you?"

Kenshin swung his eyes back towards her from where they had been resting on Kaoru's pale face and he shook his head. "No, I don't. She was beaten thoroughly, and the glass shards in her leg suggest that it was personal. If they had mugged her for just her wallet, she would have been able to take of herself. She knows the drill. She would never have gotten caught in a bad spot. She has always been so careful in the past. If Misao and Aoshi find what I think they are going to find in her apartment, then we will know for sure. I think that someone went in there after Kaoru for a reason." He pulled in a calming breath though his nose. "But yes, if it is in fact what I think it is, then Aoshi will need to forge all the right documents in case someone starts snooping. If you wouldn't mind, Megumi, I will give you my credit card; pick up some rings. We need to make this as real as possible. I think you will also find that nothing of value was taken from her home, so it would be plausible that she also kept her wedding rings."

Megumi nodded. "Sapphires and white gold, I think. I will try to get her something she can wear on her right ring finger when this mess is over." The tall woman sighed and watched her friend breathe on the bed.

A sort of tense silence held the room as Sano slipped his arm around his wife's shoulders. Footsteps echoed down the hall and they looked up as the door opened. Aoshi and Misao walked in with grim expressions. "Such rude people…" Misao said rolling her eyes as she went and sat on Kenshin's lap so she could take her shoes off. "How is she?"

"The doctors said she should come to within the hour or so." Kenshin said quietly, his voice filling the room easily. "What did you find?"

Misao ran a hand through her bangs. "The place was trashed. I haven't seen anyone deliberately destroy everything of value before. Her little glass figurines from her mother were completely shattered and all her old pictures were ripped into pieces. There wasn't enough time to search for fingerprints or fibers, but I don't think we would have found any. Hannya is going to take a team over there tonight and look after the police have gone. They might find something. Over all, I would say the entire thing was deliberate."

Aoshi leaned against the wall. "It was an attack on her."

Kenshin nodded. "I didn't think it was directed at us. Alright, here is what we're going to do. I will call Hiko and explain what is going on. Aoshi, I am going to need you to take care of all the documentation." Aoshi nodded, his eyes flickering to the charts on her bed. "Megumi and Sano, you two are going to start making phone calls. If you can, I want Hannya or Beshimi to work with you. Find out everything you can about her past. Misao, go with Aoshi and report back once you get updated. I want to know what happened in that apartment. There might have been video tapes of them going and coming from the apartment, but they are probably gone. However, maybe someone saw something."

Misao grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "We know what we are doing, general, no need to dictate so harshly. We know what to look for. We are going to assume you are staying here to take care of Kaoru." She didn't even pause to allow him to nod. "Good. Because if he came after her once, he would do it again. Aoshi and I put the call to the cops in, so it wouldn't surprise us if someone showed up over the next couple of days to question her. The police are generally a bunch of paid off idiots, but if Saitoh gets involved they may be able to find something there we cannot." Her voice suggested that it was a possibility, but unlikely.

She glanced down at her shoes, picked them up, and walked to Aoshi's side. He looked down at her bare feet but Misao was distracted by her friend's breathing. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth and Aoshi knew she would prance right out of the hospital without her shoes. Reaching down, he calmly picked her up.

Hospitals were some of the dirtiest places on earth.

* * *

Kaoru woke up slowly. It was like swimming through inky water. That was unusual. She had hated water since she was nine and her dad had laughingly taught her to swim. Kaoru had gotten really good at holding her breath. It had been part of her father's campaign to teach her to respect him. It took several moments to figure out how to open her eyes but when she did, the room swam once she got past the bright light. The walls were the brilliant white washed walls of a hospital and she became aware of sharp pain in every part of her body. Her ribs were jarring and her left leg throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

She supposed she might have made some noise, some change of breathing, because she heard a rustling of pages and turned to see a familiar set of bright violet eyes watching her from over a newspaper. His eyes were diamond hard with amber flares but settled into something less violent as they took her in. "You're awake."

He put the newspaper down and moved towards her. He carefully brushed her bangs out of her eyes and smiled at her. "Hi there," he breathed, his fingers caressing her cheek. "How do you feel?" He watched her open her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a croaking noise. His arm reached out of her view but suddenly a plastic cup was in his hands. There was a straw that he placed between her lips. "Slow sips, Kaoru…take it easy." She did as he said and took careful sips until she had drained most of the cup and leaned back, exhausted.

His fingers were back to smoothing her hair and she looked up at him. "I know you're hurting, but I need you to let me know if it becomes worse, alright? The doctors don't want you to get used to the painkillers, but they are willing to give you something to take off the edge. They would prefer not to drug you too badly," his voice was gentle and she closed her eyes.

"Thank you," she rasped. The memory of last night came back in all its gruesome detail and she shivered with reaction. The memory of last night's terror tugged at her until she felt the weight of it pressed against her chest. Suddenly, warm hands cupped her face.

"Shhh…" Kenshin softly whispered. "I have you. You're safe in the hospital."

The warmth of his voice and his hands were her undoing. The tears that had been burning a path down her throat and the back of her eyes slipped from the corners of her lashes and trickled to meet the warmth of his calloused fingers as he brushed them away.

"Please don't cry," he implored softly. Kaoru gasped painfully and tried to stop the onslaught, but once it had started, it didn't seem to want to stop. The bed bent with his weight and his nose was buried below her ear, the heat of him warm against her cold body.

"Hush, Kaoru. Whoever did this isn't going to touch you again." It was a promise and she clutched at his waist, her hand fisting in his shirt as she worked to stop. The sobbing hurt her ribs and she couldn't raise her arm any high to hold him as she wanted. She desperately wanted some sort of physical assurance that she was safe. No matter how warm he was, or how soothing his voice was, he wasn't going to be able to be here all the time. The cold certainty that this was only a reprieve had the tears flowing even harder. Her father wasn't going to give up until she was dead now. She had damaged his pride with this escape far more than she had with any other. He would never let this go. It would eat at him until he had destroyed her and everything in her life.

Eventually she was just too tired and too worn down to cry anymore. She laid there, breathing in the scent of Kenshin, thankful for the temporary warmth of his body, the comfort that she could hold to her later and remind herself of when her father took his revenge; she was suddenly so tired.

It was her breathing that told him she had fallen asleep again. Even resting, her Chi was chaotic. Her fingers were still loosely clutched in his shirt and he teased them free, wondering at the desperate hold she had on him. The doctors had assured him there was no sign of rape, but he had already known that. She hadn't come to him the way a woman who had been abused in that way would have come to him. There had been desperation and pain, fear laced with uncertainty, but none of the torn damage being raped would have left behind. Sighing, he untangled himself from her, unhappy that he had to leave her alone. Looking at his watch, he rubbed his eyes. The night nurse would be taking her round soon.

She was almost on the dot and he had already settled back into his roll as a nervous husband. "She woke up for a few moments," he told the nurse, careful to put the proper amount of relief and uncertainty in his voice. The nurse offered him an assuring smile.

"How did she feel?" the nurse asked as she marked some things on her chart. "Did she say if she was in any pain?"

Kenshin nodded. "She was hurting. I think her ribs and leg were giving her some trouble. She wasn't awake for long, but her breathing was labored."

The nurse nodded and made some adjustments to the IV. "We will come in around 5:30 for the next check. If she wakes up between now and then and needs something, please hit the call button. This dose should hold her over. I believe her doctor will be coming by tomorrow afternoon to give you the results of the x-rays."

Kenshin nodded his head. "Thank you."

The nurse pursed her lips. "There have been several nosy policemen who have wanted to speak to your wife. They said they will also be coming back tomorrow." Her voice suggested what she thought about that as she gathered her clipboard and moved out of the room.

Kenshin frowned. He expected Saitoh to show up and ask questions but he didn't have a partner and the nurse's words suggested that there had been more than one asking around. He swung his eyes back to the sleeping woman and picked up his cell phone.

"I know what time it is," Kenshin said hissed softly, careful not to make too much noise as he settled back against the recliner. "No…it's Kaoru. She was attacked….no, I wasn't there. She showed…" he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aoshi is…" he closed his phone when the dial tone hit. "That man…" Kenshin groused as he kicked off his shoes.

Moving to her bedside he shifted Kaoru so that he could climb into the twin bed. She made a noise but didn't protest once he had a good grip on her, her body relaxing against him. He made sure her bad wrist was settled against his abdomen and that her bad leg wasn't brushing against anything that would cause her to hurt when she woke up; absently he set the alarm on his watch so he could be out of the bed half an hour before the nurse woke. At least in this position, if she did wake up and needed help using the facilities, she couldn't pretend he wasn't there. His presence, he could only hope, would help her fight against the nightmares he knew she was going to face.

"I'll protect you, even if you don't want me to," he whispered, kissing her temple.

* * *

Kaoru woke with a start, at first not knowing where she was when she opened her eyes. She always felt disoriented in the mornings, but this was worse. Warm breath slid across her ear and down her neck, and she tilted her head back to see dark red hair. Kenshin. His arms were wrapped around her and her body was using him as an impromptu body pillow. Her movements felt foggy, and she must have woken him because his eyes blinked open to show sleepy violet eyes. "You're supposed to be sleeping," he informed her softly, brushing a finger down her face.

"What are you doing?" There was a slight slur on her words and she realized she was floating in that drug-y sensation that always came with the nice stuff.

He nosed forward and kissed her temple, surprising her again, and shifted his hold so she was cradled even more firmly against his chest. "Keeping you warm. Those are thin blankets, Kaoru, and its cold in here." His voice was a lazy whisper that caressed her battered nerves so that she relaxed despite herself.

"I'm tired," Kaoru admitted, finding her words were true. She was tired. Sleep dragged at her, wanting to pull her down into its abyss. But with sleep came memories and nightmares that even the drugs couldn't keep her from. In her history, she had found that the drugs just kept her dragged down longer. "I'm sorry."

His hands smoothed up and down her arms. "We will talk about this when you're more coherent. I don't blame you for anything. Aoshi and Misao are looking into this as we speak." His lips brushed against her hairline with each word. "It's going to be alright."

Kaoru wanted to argue with him, to tell him that he was wrong, that it was only a matter of time. Instead she closed her eyes again and let him keep his illusions. If he wanted to think he could protect her, she would let him. She should have run from him and his friends the moment they entered her life. Something wanted to harden inside her and she knew it was the fact that, once again, she had something to protect. She would not let her father destroy these wonderful people's happiness.

As soon as she was able, she was going to have to flee. She was going to have to let go of her selfish needs and run; her father would stop at nothing to destroy everything around her if he thought it would hurt her. Even in the safety of Kenshin's arms, her mind danced with images of what could be. Even as the drugs pulled her back into a sleep that was supposed to be restful, she knew that everything was only temporary.

He watched her drift off, swathing her in his Chi, feeling the way hers trembled and flickered with fear and determination. "What do you fear so much, Koi?" Kenshin questioned softly, cupping her soft cheek in his hand. Even in sleep, her features didn't relax into something that resembled peace. Running his fingers down her pale skin, tracing the curves with eyes wanting to memorize, he frowned as his fingers came across a sort of ridge above her left ear.

It was an old scar that didn't appear to have healed correctly. Frowning, he ran fingers over it, smoothing them across it, when he found its twin a little lower. Now that he knew what to look for, he actually found several old scars. Some looked to be newer than the others. His heart clenched even as he realized what was going on. This wasn't the first time she had been beaten this badly. He closed his eyes and wondered, if he searched, what other scars her would find on her little body. "You are hiding so much…" he kissed the edge of the scar because he couldn't help himself. The lines around her mouth were still there and he laid there, listening to her sleep.

It wasn't until his watch beeped that he forced himself to let go of her. She didn't make a noise as he shifted her back into a comfortable position without him. As much as he wanted to stay curled up around her, he didn't think he wanted the morning shift to catch him wrapping himself around her yet. He carefully tucked her back under the covers and made a mental note to have Misao bring an extra blanket. Settling back into the chair the hospital had provided, he pretended to sleep.

Those scars bothered him more than he wanted to admit. It meant that there had been situations where he hadn't been able to protect her. That she hadn't been willing to talk about with their group yet. Something violent from her past was stalking her and she hadn't felt comfortable enough with them to tell them about it. Someone had hurt her physically, and he suddenly understood why her eyes were so old. There was going to be hell to pay once he got his hands on whoever was responsible for this.

* * *

She was refusing to talk.

Kenshin watched her from lowered lashes as she clumsily ate her breakfast with her left hand. It was plain oatmeal and she had grimaced every time she took a bite, so he had tracked down some honey to sweeten it for her. There had been an expression on her face when he had shown up with the honey and a chocolate chip muffin that he couldn't read. It was as if she had never had someone take care of her before and wasn't certain what her reaction should have been.

Kaoru was beginning to suspect something was up. When Kenshin had left, the nurse had come in to give her some medicine. It was supposed to keep her from being drowsy. Not that her body wasn't tired and stiff and recovering from shock. Now Kaoru was shoveling gruel down her throat as fast as she could because if she didn't, she was going to come off the bed and strangle him with his own hair. The nurse, for some reason yet unexplained, had called her Mrs. Himura.

She knew once she started the conversation she couldn't give him any sort of edge or he would win. She had been arguing with Misao and Megumi long enough to know what they were all good at. If her sources were right, Kenshin was even worse. What on earth had possessed him to tell people they were _married? _He was putting himself in danger and she couldn't tell him. So she had to use the only route left open to her. _Do whatever it took to make him regret his decision_.

"So," Kaoru asked him as she set down her spoon on her tray, watching him flip through that damnable magazine of his. Her bottom lip burned a bit; the stitch and swelling made it difficult to eat. "How did you sleep, _anata_?" There was an edge to her voice that was sharp, even to her own hearing.

He stilled for a long second. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Maybe she should have thrown the bowl of oatmeal at him instead. Perhaps her roundabout manner had been a bad idea. Her statement gave him all sorts of ways to go about the argument, yet she couldn't take the words back. There was a quality to that silence and something about the way Chi rolled off him that told her she wasn't getting the reaction she had hoped for. To be honest, she was almost hoping he would begin apologizing and making his excuses. He did neither. Instead he turned and gave her a warm, amused look that had a little bubble of anticipatory fission rolling through her blood.

"I slept fine." There was an amused purr in his voice and her gut clenched. Kaoru refused to be intimidated by the warm light in his eyes and raised a brow.

"That's wonderful," Kaoru replied irritable. "Then you won't mind explaining why the nurse called me Mrs. Himura. Now, I realize I am on some major painkillers, but I was pretty sure I hadn't married anyone recently."

His mouth curved into a smile. "That can be changed." Kaoru scowled at his teasing and waved her spoon as threateningly as she could at him, being suddenly left handed.

"Now is _not_ the time to make jokes. You should have simply checked me under my real name and things would have been just fine! I can't think of a single reason why you did otherwise." Her bottom lip was shoved out in a scowl and she glared at him. She wasn't telling the complete truth and she was sure he knew it, but she was going to give this charade her best shot.

Kenshin took the couple of steps forward so that he could brace his hands on her bed, leaning forward so they were only a few inches apart. "I will tell you anything you want to know, Kaoru, when you tell me why your mother's name is Kamiya and you're a Kasshin." Aoshi had called earlier that morning and given him a complete rundown of everything they had found and everything they had not.

Kaoru's eyes rounded. Something like surprise flickered through her eyes, but they quickly narrowed to hide her emotions. "How dare," she started fiercely, but the sound of the door entered into her brain just as a warm, firm mouth pressed lightly against hers. Her lips had been parted in the middle of her statement, so his tongue flicked against the roof of her mouth before brushing lightly against her own tongue. Kaoru sat there in mute shock before she heard the sound of the nurse clearing her throat. His mouth had been exquisitely gentle against hers, so that her stitches completely ignored the kiss.

Kenshin pulled back and the corner of his mouth kicked up at the sight of her dazed expression. He turned and made his apologies to the nurse, who had an amused expression on her face. The spoon was still clutched in Kaoru's hand like it was a weapon.

"I came in to see if you two were up and about. Those police officers were by earlier this morning, but you two were still sleeping. They said they would be back sometime today." Her voice was as gentle as it was brusque; Kaoru attempted to keep from blushing even harder. She ran her tongue over her lips in a nervous habit, analyzing what the nurse had said. The taste of the coffee Kenshin had drank that morning lingered on her tongue and she swallowed. There was no way she was going to be able to convince anyone that Kenshin wasn't her husband; he probably had already crafted some tale for why she didn't have a ring. The nurse didn't seem to care one way or the other as she gathered the tray and spoon still clutched in Kaoru's hand.

"The good news is," the nurse continued as if she didn't mind at all that Kenshin had taken up the position next to Kaoru and threaded his right hand through her left, "that the doctor only wants to keep her here for another few days. You went through quite a shock, young lady, and they just want to take precautions. You're very fortunate that all your wounds were external or simple breaks."

Kenshin was rubbing his thumb along the back of her knuckles and it was distracting her. "What type of care is she going to need once we get out of here?"

The nurse smiled at him. "Her doctor, Mr. Fujiwaka, will be coming in later to explain everything. He will discuss her medication as well. We are hoping we can take you off most of the heavy painkillers today or tomorrow." She smiled at Kaoru. "Some of them are going to make you sleepy, so if you get tired, feel free to sleep as much as you need." She nodded at Kenshin. "We will be by later to check on her. Hit the call button if you need anything."

Kaoru thanked her quietly.

It was no sooner than the door had shut that she became aware of her need to use the bathroom. She sighed at the complete irony of that and twisted her fingers to express her wish that Kenshin would remove his fingers. He wasn't looking quite at her but there was an expression on his face that confused her. First he had placed her under his name, and then he had kissed her. Had she missed some cosmic event? Had she been hit harder in the head that she had thought? "Kenshin, let go!" Kaoru complained softly, rotating her wrist again. Her nose burned in such a way that told her she was blushing.

"Hmmm?" He asked his expression slightly puzzled as it swung back to her.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Kaoru snarled at him, aware that her entire face was turning red. This was mortifying. This was a reason she didn't want him lingering. His mouth quirked up and then he was moving to help her get out of the bed. Her left hand awkwardly tossed the covers back and then he was supporting her by slipping an arm around her waist so that, when her bad foot hit the ground, she could lean on him while her body protested her movements. The room spun for a moment and she clung to him for a second as her vision saw those peculiar spots that occurred when she moved too abruptly or after a long period of inactivity. Once her body was no longer limp against him, she attempted to pull away.

"Careful, Kaoru," he lightly chided as he assisted her. "Your body was recently traumatized. It's best to take this slow. You don't want to press that ankle any more than you have to. You're lucky, the doctors said it was only badly sprained with a few pulled ligaments, nothing was snapped or broken." His tone was off and she glanced up at him. He wasn't looking at her, so she concentrated on making it to the bathroom.

Kaoru clenched her teeth as she heavily limped and was thankful he hadn't tried to carry her. The IV was a bit tricky to manage since she only had one good arm and it was clutching at Kenshin, so he simply held her carefully with one arm and tugged the IV with the other. "Are you going to need any help?" he questioned, his lips brushing the edge of her ear as he spoke. The heat of his breath sent goosebumps down her body as surely as the almost-caress.

"Now listen here," Kaoru growled at him, raising her head so she could glare him, since he was only a few inches taller than her small frame. "I don't know what you're playing at, but it stops _here_."

His grinned at her, a cheeky little boy's grin that belonged on the face of a twelve-year-old; not a man who was just shy of celebrating his thirtieth birthday. "As your husband," he started, but she cut him off as she balanced against the sink and shoved at his chest with her good hand.

"We are not married," she reminded him dutifully. "Now leave before I start asking you how many laws you have broken in the past twenty-four hours." He grinned at her and mock saluted. That just irritated her. However, once she had finished with her morning toiletries and was left leaning tiredly against the sink, she looked at herself.

Her eyes were large and dark in her face, the color of a fading bruise. The butterfly bandage had come off earlier and the cut was an angry red against her pale skin. Her bottom lip, the one Kenshin had kissed earlier, was still swollen but was healing. There was absolutely nothing that she could see that would attract the man outside the door waiting for her to finish. She was too realistic to do more than view the events as if he was looking after a little sister he was pretending was his wife. Her stomach clenched in protest but she knew that she couldn't let herself pretend.

She knew she was attracted to Kenshin. It was the reason she attempted to never be alone with him. The reason she kept Misao or Megumi or even Sano between them as a buffer. Because if she let herself think for a single moment that he would care for her back, she would cave into him and bury herself inside and around him, and then her father would kill him. Kenshin moved like a predator, all dark silk and sensual control that came with the powerful and rich. She was small and filthy and poor enough that she had, more than once in her life, been reduced to pickpocketing to pay for her meals.

No, she was something he definitely didn't want. As soon as she got out of this hospital and this stupid charade was over, a charade she still didn't understand, she was leaving. Running as far away as she could and finding a new hole to carve a life out of until she had to run again. It was like a never ending spin cycle.

The door opened and Kaoru turned in surprise. "Megumi is here," Kenshin told her quietly as he helped her back to bed. Kaoru smiled a bit around her bruised mouth and the older woman returned it. "Hey." She wasn't sure what else she was going to say. Megumi's eyes were absorbing everything about her and she felt uncomfortable.

Megumi reached around her and gave her a soft hug. It surprised Kaoru, because the woman normally wasn't this affectionate. "Don't ever do something like this again," Megumi warned as she moved away so Kenshin could get her situated. "You know I hate to worry."

Kaoru stared at her. "Megumi…"

Megumi sniffed and walked over to her purse and pulled out a small box. "These are yours," she told Kaoru, putting them on the bed. She pulled out another box and tossed it at Kenshin. "That one is yours."

Kenshin smiled his thanks, but Kaoru looked at the rings wearily. "What…"

"Rings," Megumi said as if Kaoru hadn't spoken. "So that you can pretend this charade is real." Kenshin made a noise but Megumi ignored it. "I understand that you are worried about it, but it's safer this way. Whoever did this isn't going to be looked for Kaoru Himura, and we need to keep anyone from suspecting you." She gave the girl an assessing glace. "You are going to tell us what happened, aren't you?"

Kaoru ignored her question and opened the box. Her mouth went dry. Inside there were two rings. One was a smooth, plain band; the other held a square-cut sapphire surrounded by two smaller squares and small diamonds going three or four down the band. The jewels were small carets, so they would fit on her small fingers, but the workmanship was gorgeous. She looked up, startled and vulnerable. "I don't…"

Kenshin's long fingers were pulling her hand up, and then he was sliding the cold metal along her ring finger. "I know." His voice was back in that low purr and Kaoru looked at her rings. If she turned them over, they might do a bit of damage should she have to slap someone. Megumi was still watching her, expecting an answer to her questions, and Kenshin was tracing his finger over the plain band as if he was fascinated. The exhaustion of walking to the bathroom hit and she swayed as her energy seeped out of her like water through a sieve. She didn't argue when Kenshin caught her expression; she just let him push her back into the covers to sleep.

"She hasn't said anything, has she?" Megumi asked quietly as she watched the way Kenshin smoothed back the girl's hair. "I brought some things for her to change into and some of her personal stuff from her apartment. I really don't think she should go back there." There was a note there that had Kenshin turning to give her a sharp look.

"I don't plan on letting her. Aoshi can move in with Misao; they've been planning on it for weeks now anyway." There was a tone in his voice that surprised Megumi. "The second bedroom can be used to store her things while she heals."

Megumi raised a brow at that. "Not letting the girl have her own bed?"

Kenshin smirked slightly, his eyes darkening to glittering amber. "By the time she is ready to be let out of the hospital, Megumi, she won't want her own bed. But it's not just that…she has nightmares." His voice was low.

Megumi rolled her eyes and gave him a warning look. "Be careful with that girl. She has scars on her I think we are just now going to start to see. Besides, I won't have to pull every strand of red-hair from your scalp individually. She will do it herself." Standing, she reached for her purse. "Now be a good boy and make sure that girl gets a shower and a change of real clothes, okay? Misao and Aoshi are going to come by once they have a better idea of what is going on. Sano is off doing something or other."

Kenshin blinked several times after Megumi had left before sighing and shaking his head. Looking around, he noticed that she had brought him his briefcase. Good. He could get some work done while Kaoru was sleeping and possibly work on a strategy on how to get her to talk about what had happened. There had been a flicker of fear behind her eyes, and he knew from experience that trauma victims rarely wanted to talk about what had happened. The more he heard from the others and the more emotion she allowed him to see, the more he decided that Aoshi was right. The entire attack had been personal. His mouth quirked upwards; he wondered how long it would take before she started demanding answers of her own.

Sighing when Megumi's suggestion rang back and forth through his mind, he looked at the woman sleeping. She would enjoy a shower. He wondered how he was going to ask for the towels and such for her, or how he was going to convince a nurse to help her. Kaoru would be furious with him if he attempted to give her a shower himself.

He didn't expect the matter to be taken out of his hands.

The nurse, he had learned her name was Ira, came in with lunch and saw her patient was sleeping. "Oh poor dear, must be worn out. I believe the good doctor is going to be changing her medication soon. He will be here around three or so. When she wakes up, make sure she eats the jello please; and you might give the girl a shower. There is still a bit of blood in her hair and the stitches will be fine wet. It's the cast that has to be dry. Since the doctor is coming in she might feel more…comfortable the better she feels." There was something flickering in the nurse's eyes that had him on edge, even as he fought it down. "I will nip back here in a little bit with a plastic bag to tie over it and I will bring some towels as well."

Kenshin sat there a final report over a case he had finished up last week in his hands. That was two people who had suggested that his wife needed a shower. The problem was both of them expected him to give her a bath. Frowning a bit, he sat back. This was going to take a bit of work. He sat back and watched as her chest rose and fell. His Kaoru had a spectacular temper that she tried to repress, and she needed to learn to let it out. The sooner she learned it was safe to dump her emotions on him, the sooner she would start coming to him for other reasons. He hated to use something like this, when she would feel so vulnerable, to start making this point, but he saw no help for it.

He had also been told he was a masochist.

Perhaps it was time to prove them right.

* * *

Kaoru woke up and blinked fuzzily until she managed to clear her brain and then mentally yelled at herself for falling asleep again. She never slept this much. On the streets it was a surefire way to get caught, and anywhere else it was almost worse. She had to be awake when her father came or she wouldn't be waking up. Sitting up was difficult and she had almost managed it when strong palms were curled around the base of her spine and the bed was making a humming noise when it moved up. It had been so long since she was in a hospital that she had forgotten about the adjustable beds.

"Lunch is here," Kenshin told her calmly. "You're lucky. It was only brought in a few minutes ago, so it should still be warm. I am under firm instructions to make sure you eat the jello."

Kaoru made a face. "I hate jello. Please tell me it's not green." Kaoru covered her eyes when in fact it proved to be green jello. "I promise to leave all the proper offerings," Kaoru grumbled, "just don't make me eat that."

Kenshin gave her a thoughtful look and watched as she took a bite out of what appeared to be some sort of pasta smeared in pasty tomato sauce. If the look on Kaoru's face said anything, she wasn't enjoying that either. "Offerings," he mused out loud and took his seat next to her bed. "What sort of offerings?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "I have no idea. It depended on which god requested the offering." She took another bite and glared down at the pasta. "I thought my cooking was bad." She sighed and maneuvered another forkful, chewing on her upper lip as she did so. It was difficult for her to get the pasta on the fork, but the nurse had instructed her at breakfast that she was going to have to learn how to eat on her own. She supposed that was why they had given her such a sadistic meal. She was going to lose ten pounds simply because by the time she got a dozen forkfuls to her mouth she was so frustrated she didn't want to eat anymore.

Kaoru looked up and blinked at the expression on Kenshin's face. He was giving her the most peculiar look. Frowning at him, she chewed her noodles as she blinked at him. "What?" Kaoru asked as she swallowed.

Kenshin laced his fingers together and continued to study her features. "The nurse came by and mentioned that the doctor was coming to give us a detailed catalogue of your injuries." His tone never changed, even when she fidgeted a bit at the idea of her injuries being laid out. "She said you would want a shower." Kaoru blinked with surprised eyes before nodding slowly, as if she hadn't thought about taking a shower.

"Nurse Ira said she would come buy with a plastic bag for your cast," he replied lightly before motioning for her to eat. "You should be finished with that before she gets back." He opened the jello cup and took a spoonful for himself. "You have to eat half," he warned and was given a bright smile that somehow emphasized the split lip and jagged cut above her brow. He watched her struggle with her next bite of food, mentally making a list of finger foods that would put some weight on her slender frame. He grinned at her growl of frustration and reached over and took the fork from her hand. She made an indignant noise but didn't say anything when he handed her the fork back. They finished the meal quickly, after that, with Kenshin rolling the noodles onto the fork and Kaoru taking the forkful of noodles back to eat it.

Once she had finished off the tasteless, watered down spaghetti, and she was swallowing the last of the jello, a look of utter disgust on her pretty features, Nurse Ira walked in and dropped off the towels. "Now remember," she warned as she gathered the tray and watched as Kaoru forced the last bite of lime-green jello down. "Don't get that cast wet and try to keep as much weight off that ankle as possible. I will be back to re-bind your ribs and rewrap your ankle as soon as your finished. Just hit the call button." With a smile at the couple she left. Kaoru accepted Kenshin's help out of the bed and into the bathroom, her mind firmly stuck on the idea that her hair was going to be clean, when she noticed he wasn't leaving the bathroom like he should.

Kaoru turned and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt as she braced herself on the counter as he put the towel down. His fingers moved quickly as he wrapped her cast with the plastic bag, tying it in place easily. He turned and shut the door. When he turned back around, Kaoru was staring at him with wide eyes that suggested she wanted answers. "What," Kaoru asked quietly, "are you doing?" Her voice held a bit of panic in her tones and he smiled at her.

Kenshin leaned against the door and butterflies sprang up in her stomach and fluttered around. "Someone has to wash your hair." He told her calmly. "Besides, you're going to need help getting into a change of clothing and you're already lopsided with your ankle and wrist."

Kaoru stared at him. "You are _not_ helping me shower."

Kenshin raised one scarlet brow. "You're right, I'm going to _give_ you a shower. There is a difference."

"Like hell," Kaoru spat furiously, attempting to stand up straight. Something like panic was racing in her veins. If he saw her back, there was going to be little chance that he wasn't going to ask questions that she wouldn't be able to answer, and there were already questions in his eyes she didn't like. She had never seen her back, but an old lover had once told her it looked someone had taken a jigsaw puzzle and carved it into her back. The idea that he would see something like that, never mind that being naked in front of him was humiliating enough, had little tears springing up in the corner of her eyes.

The next heartbeat his arms were around her shoulders, holding her to him, careful of her ribs. Kaoru sucked in a deep breath and stomped down on her sudden emotional outpour and breathed deeply to fix her shaky breathing. Kenshin held for a moment longer before softly speaking. "We have to work on your trust level. I will only wash your hair and balance you when you are using your left hand to wash everything else, Kaoru." His voice was soothing. "I promise. I won't touch you anyway besides that, unless you request help."

Kaoru breathed deeply between through her nose. "You can't just call the nurse?"

Kenshin kissed the top of her hair. "I'm sorry," he told her gently. "Right now you're my wife, and a husband would be more than willing to help you. I know this isn't a situation that you want, but when we leave here you are still going to require assistance. Trust me." He pulled back and tugged the hair tie that had been holding her thick, long hair back and watched as it cascaded to the middle of her back. "You have beautiful hair."

Kaoru swallowed hard and averted her eyes. "I don't understand why you are pulling this charade." Her voice was quiet. "Why are you doing this?"

Kenshin smoothed her hair away from her face, something she had noticed he was apt to do whenever he felt like it. He continued to run his hands through her hair. "You're my friend, Kaoru. Someone has decided to go after you." He tilted her chin up. "It will not happen again. Right now, my name will give you protection until we can get this cleared up."

Kaoru stared up at him. "Why do you keep talking like you're the one who is going to catch whoever did this?" She swallowed and forced herself to meet his eyes. "Why won't you just let the police handle it?"

Kenshin's mouth quirked up at the corners. "For the same reason that you won't tell me the truth about whom attacked you." His voice was mild and she averted her eyes.

Kaoru swallowed and fiddled with his shirt. "You're not going to let me call the nurse, are you?" Kenshin shook his head no, and turned his back.

"I won't look until you ready for me to help."

He was giving her a semblance of privacy while he could. He could tell that she was uncertain and nervous, something vulnerable attempting to hide behind her eyes. Something tightened in his chest, but he was determined to have his way in this. She was going to have to learn to trust him. He listened to the sounds of her breathing as she struggled with her hospital gown. He knew she was going to be thrilled to get into her own clothing once she was clean.

"Alright," Kaoru softly spoke, keeping her back to him. Her face was colored a dull red, but he was right. She did need his help. She swallowed as she waited for him and didn't attempt to limp to the bars inside the shower until his hands were firmly planted on her elbows. He made no attempt to move around her, instead letting her take down the detachable shower head and adjust the temperature.

An arm wrapped around her bare waist and she swallowed at the feel of his arm around her waist. The press of his muscles against her back was warm, and she swallowed hard as he ran the hot water through her hair. Kaoru felt the faintest brush of his pants against the back of her legs and felt a surge of relief that almost made her dizzy. Her eyes fluttered close in pleasure, and it took a great deal of will to bite down on the purr that threatened to roll out of her throat. His fingers were carefully massaging her scalp and she felt the rest of her tension leave her body.

It was when he was wringing out her hair so he could lather it with conditioner after the second washing that she became aware of how still he was. It took her a moment, because her senses were still humming with pleasure from the massage to her scalp. There was a quiet indrawn breath she could hear even over the water, and she froze when he brushed a finger tip down her back.

"Kaoru what…" his voice cracked with anger, so he tried again. "What is this?"

Kaoru closed her eyes and shook her head mutely. She was thinking he would argue with her, demand answers, but she was completely surprised when his lips brushed the skin above her shoulder blade. Then his lips mimicked the move and kissed her opposite shoulder blade. Then he placed a soft kiss at the base of her neck.

"You will tell me," he told her softly, his lips still brushing her skin. "I will know what each and every scar is from. I will know every story behind every line, Kaoru." There was a strange mix between a purr and a growl in his voice. His tongue flicked against the base of her neck, and her eyes widened. However, he raised his mouth and she felt him working a liberal amount of conditioner into her hair. He placed the showerhead in her hands and then she was being traded that for a loofah full soap. He rested one hand lightly on her hip to keep her balanced as she washed everything above the waist. Everything else was going to have to wait. At least her hair was clean, as was most of her body.

Kenshin finished rinsing her hair and then let her turn the water off as he reached for a towel and handed it to her. She awkwardly wrapped and secured the towel and he moved her to the stool. He sat her down and rubbed her hair out. Kaoru allowed him to braid her hair and then accepted his help to stand.

"Here," he disappeared and then came back with a small bundle of clothing. "Can you change on your own?" She didn't answer him, but her expression was determined. He turned his back dutifully and didn't turn until she asked. She had managed to change into a clean set of underwear and get a clean shirt on. The shorts were giving her trouble as her ribs protested her leaning down again. Kenshin dropped to his knees and helped her step gingerly into the shorts, letting her grab onto his shoulders as he helped her with her bad ankle. Kaoru didn't protest as he picked her up and carried her to the bed, hitting the call button after she was sitting on the edge. She was going to have to take her shirt off for the nurse, so he made himself busy in the bathroom.

When he came back out the nurse was carrying on pleasant conversation with Kaoru.

"Very lucky dear, to have someone so attentive to your needs, that's not too tight? Good. I would say the good doctor would be coming in sometime after three. That should give you half an hour or so to get ready." Nurse Ira continued on along a similar fashion as she maneuvered the girls legs back onto the bed. Smiling at Kenshin, she left them alone.

Kenshin moved over to his own bag and looked at the tired girl on the bed. "I am going to change…." She didn't answer so he moved into the bathroom. Kaoru looked up and checked the clock. Half an hour wouldn't hurt…

Kenshin stepped out of the bathroom and grinned to himself. She had fallen asleep again, and was napping sprawled out on the covers, so the long length of her legs was apparent to his eyes. He woke her up fifteen minutes till three so she could be awake when the doctor came in. She had the most adorable sleepy-flush to her face, and her eyes were dark blue with an overcast of contentedness he was positive she wasn't aware she was showing. He lightly rubbed her neck for a moment before handing her the water a nurse had dropped by and requested that she drink.

"Doctor Fujiwaka will be here in a moment," Kenshin softly told her. He wasn't expecting her to rest her forehead against his shoulder and mutter incoherent things and relax like she was going to fall asleep again. A pleased smile curled at his lips so he scooted backwards and let her lean against his chest. A soft rapping at his door caught his attention. Kenshin buried his fingers in the base of her braid and softly called her name. She opened sleepy eyes and blinked rapidly and started a bit at the sight of the doctor. He was an elderly man with bright blue eyes and a completely bald head. The only hair on his face was a long, thick handlebar mustache.

"I am Doctor Fujiwaka." He said with a very assured, kind air. "It is nice to see you awake, Mrs. Himura. I take you're the husband?" At Kenshin's nod, he pulled out her chart and then thumbed through some papers he had in another clipboard in his hand. "Then I would like to discuss some things with both of you. When we were running x-rays on Mrs. Himura, we found some rather disturbing things." He moved forward to show the young couple an x-ray of her right arm, the one with the broken wrist, and then one with her ribs. It was then that Kaoru noticed how small the man was. He was perhaps even smaller than she was.

"See here," he said, pointing to something other than the obvious break in her wrist. "This is calcium build up that suggests Mrs. Himura has broken her arm at some point in her life. Then here," he showed the ribs. Several of them held the same deposit markings as her arm. The hand on the back of her neck tightened just a fraction. "Now, generally we would hand this off as simply being a child getting rambunctious. But, as I am sure you know about the scars on your wife's back and the type of injuries she now has, suspicions rise. When Mr. Fujita came in and asked for x-rays," the hand tightened again, "we were forced to show them to him." He sat back and gave them both a hard look.

Kaoru met his eyes squarely. "I thank you for your concerns," Kaoru said quietly. "However, as I child I practiced kendo, and that is the cause of the broken ribs and arm, Doctor. I had three older cousins who weren't happy that a girl played samurai better than they did. After they broke my arm when they were getting too rough, mother refused to allow me to continue. Later, after I reminded them why I was better, I got knocked out of a tree." She smiled at him. "I am afraid there is nothing more than a misunderstanding. Kenshin has been nothing but supportive since I was attacked, and I would appreciate it if the staff would continue to treat him with the same respect." Kaoru had been spinning the same lies for so long now that she barely remembered what had really happened. Or to be honest, she much preferred that story to the one that was true. The blazing eyes of her father sneering down at her as he broke her arm for playing kendo, and the beating that had broken her ribs had come because she had refused to dance for his friends.

"I am relieved," Dr. Fujiwaka said honestly. "I am still curious about those back scars of yours."

Kaoru stiffened slightly in Kenshin's arms and his smooth voice slid down her spine. "I believe my wife has explained as much as needed. She comes from a difficult background, Dr. Fujiwaka, and is normally seen by my private physician, Megumi Takani, if you would like to speak with her about this some other time." Kenshin voice hardened to a bite at the end. His next words softened the blow. "Your opinion on how to deal with her injuries and what medication she will be taking will be greatly appreciated."

"Of course. First of all, her cast cannot get wet and will be on for several weeks, I am afraid. Her ribs will take less time to heal because they are merely bruised, but they will cause her a bit of pain. Bending over should be avoided, even if it's to tie her shoes. Her left ankle is going to take a few weeks to heal since she stretched it so completely, and we would prefer she put little to no weight on it for a two week period. We will happily give her a boot to wear when she needs to walk around." His words were kind as he spoke, mostly directing his words at Kenshin. "After that, she will need to do some minor physical therapy to get the tendons strengthened back up. I am going to prescribe her some medication that will help her sleep at night and something else for the day." Dr. Fujiwaka continued. "She will also need to strengthen that right hand up some after the cast comes off."

Kenshin nodded. "Thank you doctor."

Dr. Fujiwaka smiled again. "It will be best that she avoids heavy fats and cholesterol since she won't be moving around a lot. I want to keep her one more night to make sure she doesn't have any problems we might have missed, and I will be by to check her out around ten in the morning." He stood and handed Kenshin a card. "If you have any questions over the medication or something else, call this number and either I or my head nurse will get back to you." Gathering his things, he stood up and left.

"Gensai Fujiwaka," Kenshin mused as he pocketed the card and turned to kiss her temple. "So, did you really learn Kendo?"

Kaoru nodded hesitantly. "Yes. But my injuries forced me to stop, and then my mother wanted to move around, so I was forced to give it up completely." Her tone was soft. "I haven't gotten to hold a bokken in years." The more truth she gave her story, the more believable it was. Pressing her good hand flat on his chest, she pushed. "Now let go, the doctor isn't here anymore."

He smiled against her neck. His mouth was still pressed against the clean skin next to her ear. "You didn't seem to mind when you were sleeping a few moments ago."

Kaoru scowled, although he couldn't see it. "I am on drugs, you heathen!"

Kenshin laughed then. "One day, Kaoru, you will sleep against me by choice." He placed a lingering kiss on her hairline and moved away from her. "I'm going to go and raid a vending machine for a sandwich. Try not to get up." He smiled at her. "It won't take me long, so if you need anything, please wait."

Kaoru scowled at him and lay back among her pillows with a frown. Someone had come from the police, which meant there was going to be a file about her. Now, while she doubted that her father would find her so soon, it still made her nervous. She just wanted to disappear and never come back. She heard the door open and didn't bother to look up. "That was fast."

When there was no answer, she looked up, and her heart stuttered to a stop.


	2. Chapter 2

And Chapter Two is finished. Sorry it took so long. Been dealing with papers and tests and more papers and observations for my Education classes, so its b een hectic. Hopefully once this semester is over I can get this wrapped up and sent out. The next few weeks are going to be busy as anything. 

Probably one maybe two more chapters depending on how much I get covered.

And as promised, this is the shiny new chapter is now beta-read by my spiffy new beta-reader Chibi Oniyuri. She got this back super fast so a big thank you to her. Also a big thank you to the people who have emailed me about beta-reading. I shall be getting back to you as soon as possible!

Ravyn

**Warning: More violence, gore, and probably several adult themes children should not read.** For all of you who are waiting happily for the smut it shall be there next chapter! Promise! In fact, its already written! Go me!

Dislcaimer: I do not own RK. Very, very sad.

* * *

Eyes several shades colder than her own stared back from hair as thick and black as hers; his jaw was squarer, harder, and his lips were thin and twisted from years of disappointment and greed. She had always been thankful she had her mother's mouth and nose, but it was her father's jaw that set so stubbornly at the end of her heart-shaped face. There was gray hair at his temples that she hadn't remembered seeing but he hadn't given her time last time. Her hands fisted in the sheets and her breathing became painfully ragged.

"Hello, buttercup, have you missed your daddy?" he questioned, his eyes hard and cold while his mouth smiled at her. "You weren't supposed to run off and leave me so soon. We were just getting started. You left me with some disappointed clients." Kaoru felt her stomach churn with a tangle of terror and despair as he shut the door, deliberately locking it to block out the nurses and the one man who had promised to keep her safe. He was going to hurt her. Her breath was shallow, well practiced, as he moved forward. His movements were deliberate as he took in his large hands the ankle carefully wrapped in the ace-bandage to control the swelling.

"You have been a very bad daughter," he told her softly, balancing her foot carefully between his fingers; scarred from years of abuse. His hands tightened marginally, and her fingers clutched at the blanket. "How much of your mother is still in you, I wonder?" He mused, gradually tightening his fingers as he spoke. How much will you fight the fate that you have been given? Until it drives you crazy, until you beg for the release that death will give you? How soon until I see you as broken as she?"

Kaoru knew better than to cry out, from his words or from his harsh grip. She could have sworn she was seeing spots as his fingers dug into the torn ligaments and her eyes burned with the desire to cry. There was fire racing up her leg. Blood pounded in her ears as her foot developed a heartbeat all of its own, and she had to bite the inside her of her lip, bite against old scars, to keep from screaming.

The lock on the door rattled harshly as someone attempted to enter.

"Ah," Jiro mused. "That would be your friend, wouldn't it?" He put her foot down and gave her a hard smile. "It would be such a shame if someone else died for you."

A second later the door opened and an amber-eyed Kenshin walked in, his expression hostile as he took in the man standing so close to Kaoru's bed. There was a change in Kenshin that she could only feel dimly. She was aware that she was shaking but couldn't seem to control her response to her father.

"Who are you?" Kenshin softly demanded with venom in his voice. Her father was taller, broader than Kenshin, yet it didn't seem to matter as Kenshin managed to broadcast a rage that was almost palpable. Kaoru was terrified. It was one thing to be scared when it was just her, but now she couldn't do anything to protect Kenshin from her father. Panic bubbled in her chest and she was finding it hard to breathe. "And why was the door locked?"

"My name is Jiro Kalman, and I have been attempting to find this girl for some time." He replied easily, mixing the truth with lies flawlessly. She recognized that alias. It was the one he saved for when he was playing investigator or cop. She couldn't remember exactly what he had set himself up as. "She is wanted for questioning for a series of murders it is thought she witnessed."

Kenshin crossed his arms and gave Jiro the most volatile look Kaoru had seen from him yet. "You have no badge, nothing to prove that you can take her with you; and you have not listed your department. My wife is currently suffering from severe trauma. And unless you can give me a good reason, I will slap your department with a lawsuit faster than you can exit this building."

Jiro frowned at him. "I am part of the main Tokyo's investigative branch. We have been looking into yukaza activities for some time and believe your _wife_ may have some information for us that is of viable use." He smiled a hard twisting of his mouth. "I don't believe your wife is as innocent as she has made herself out to be."

Kaoru's throat closed up and her eyes widened as her pupils dilated with terror and somewhere down the hall she heard the warning beeping come from the hall. A few moments later the familiar face of Nurse Ira came in and she looked furious.

"I don't know what is going on in here but you sir," she pointed at Jiro, "are not supposed to be in here. We have limited the visitors to family for a reason. Out. Both of you. I need to give my patient something to calm down." She glared at both men and Kenshin stayed where he was until Jiro moved into the hall first. Kaoru took little gasping breaths and stared at the nurse pleadingly. The Nurse injected something into Kaoru's IV and patted her shoulder.

"That should help dear. I just need you to take nice even breaths. Match your breathing to mine. Let's go…in…and out. In…and out…"

The nurse didn't let Kenshin back in until Kaoru was tucked into the covers and breathing evenly. Kaoru thought she heard the sounds of snarling coming from the hall but her mind was slowly being wrapped in cotton and the soothing voice of the nurse was gentle as she re-wrapped her ankle. The bandage had become mused during Jiro's little twisting expedition and it still hurt. Kaoru opened her eyes when she heard Kenshin's low voice.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't know who that man was but her blood pressure went sky high and her heartbeat escalated far too quickly. The girl was about to hyperventilate. Not only that, but she has somehow managed to cause the swelling to rise in her ankle. It is very important the swelling stays down. If it continues to build we will have to drain it. I want her to rest comfortably and if you cause her to panic we are going to have to ask you to leave as well." Ira warned him.

"He won't be back." Kenshin said softly, an edge to his voice. "I assure you."

Kaoru felt her body attempt to panic. Kenshin had told her father off. He was in danger. She was too relaxed and too tired to do anything, or to warn him, but when his hand curled around her fingers she pressed them into his palm in an attempt to catch his attention.

"I know," Kenshin soothed, smoothing her bangs away from her closed eyes. "I promise I will find out where those accusations came from, snapdragon." Kenshin watched in surprise as a single tear rolled around from under lashes and he brushed it away. "Kaoru," he whispered before shucking his shoes and crawling into the small bed with her. She melted into his side since she was almost asleep anyway and he ran his hand soothingly down her back. "He can't hurt you."

Kaoru honestly wished he was right.

* * *

Checking out had been less than painful, although she wasn't sure how she felt about the mandatory wheelchair that she was forced into by the orderly while Kenshin went and retrieved his car. She had really not been appreciative of him picking her up when she was more than capable of hopping to the car herself. Then he had gone and carried her into his apartment as well, but thankfully for him, he had put her on the on the couch.

"All right, snapdragon, this is how it's going to work." Kenshin told her firmly. Kaoru kept her eyes on his face so she wouldn't get distracted by how his t-shirt fit against his shoulders and chest. What was wrong with her? '_You're not half-doped up for one. For another you always notice Kenshin, now you're just in his apartment noticing Kenshin_.'

"You are either going to be on that couch or in my bed until your ankle heals. Then we will negotiate."

Kaoru stared at him. "What? There seem to be a whole series of things you aren't taking into account! The fact that lying down for long periods of time isn't good for you and personal bathroom things." She waved her hands. "There is no possible way I am staying on the couch or in your bed all the time. Where are you going to be if I am in your bed?"

Kenshin smiled, a slow smile that had her reminding herself that he was an old man and not available. "I can and will. If you decide to move around without my permission, snapdragon, there are going to be consequences." He leaned forward so that she could understand his husky tones quite clearly. "If you want to push me on this, I am sure I can come up with some sort of punishment." There was a wicked glint in his eyes and Kaoru stilled.

His smile widened at the expression on her face. "Fight me on this one, Kaoru. I look forward to being creative. While you're thinking over my terms, I will make you lunch."

Sighing and staring up at the ceiling, she wondered what on earth she was going to do. She needed to get the hell out of here but she had watched him lock the door and she knew he could move very, very quickly when he wished to. She had seen it. However, she was, for practical purposes, one legged. The stitches in her left calf hurt if she put too much pressure on them and at the hospital Kenshin had smeared some glop on it daily. She needed to cut her toe nails and she need to shave her legs. Well…there was always the chance that the old man wouldn't care for hairy legs.

So she picked up the remote and flipped through the TV with a bit of bemusement. She hadn't channel-surfed in years. In fact, her apartment had only been given a TV when Misao had learned she didn't have one and bought her one on the spot. It had taken another two weeks of arguing about it before it suddenly appeared in her living room and she had only turned it on once to see if they had connected the cable. They had. After that she had never really had time to watch it and when she did have free time she spent it napping, curled up with a book, or blowing up her kitchen. She was pretty sure the package Misao had gotten her hadn't taken so long to flip through either.

Finding some random TV program that looked to be like some sort of documentary over some sort of volcano, she absently watched while scratching at her cast. Looking down at it, she felt a smile blossom on her face. When she had broken her arm the first time, she had learned that the cast itself was hard enough that she could use it to swat at "cousins" who thought to pick on her because she was one-handed. She wondered if the same tactic would work on red-heads who, she was trying to convince herself, belonged in a crypt.

Kenshin came back in with a bed tray and a plate somehow balancing her food and a full cup of apple juice. The sandwiches were in tiny squares so she could pick them up and she was surprised to see that he had managed to make club sandwiches. Was that bacon? When had the man fried the bacon? Maybe she had been hit too hard on the head…however; they were easy to eat and tasted wonderful so she forced herself to eat them slowly. Maybe it was just the hospital food she had been forced to eat for the past two days but she hadn't tasted something so yummy in a while. "Thank you," Kaoru mumbled around one of the small sandwiches.

Kenshin swallowed his own sandwich and grinned. "So, which half of the bed do you want?"

* * *

Misao bounced over to her lover and wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her chin in the hollow of his shoulder. "Found anything yet? Delivery-man should be here in half an hour. Sorry that I don't have anything to cook."

He didn't say anything, he rarely did, but his left hand came up to rub against her arm absently while he scanned the documents Hannya had sent them. "Tell me, what seems wrong here?"

Misao frowned and leaned forward a bit. "Let's see…she received her GED at seventeen, hasn't had any tickets. The girl doesn't have a car, which could explain that. Has your basic birth certificate, finger prints….I would say it's all fake simply because it's too damn clean." Misao said firmly. Her eyes swung to the name. She blinked. "That's Kaoru's stuff?"

Aoshi scrolled down. "Yes. I had Hannya look into the name Kamiya but he hasn't turned up anything but a Maria Kamiya, maiden name unavailable, which is suspicious; and it was listed she had a daughter who was deceased at eleven. No name for the daughter." He sat back and pulled Misao around to his lap. "Someone is doing there best to cover their tracks and it's either Kaoru or the people after her."

Misao frowned. "You would think they would have given her high school or grade school or something!"

Aoshi gave her dry look. "Did you see the private tutors?"

Misao blushed faintly.

"They're dead," Aoshi finished calmly. "Were killed around the dates that she took her GED; now either they were killed because she finished school or they were killed and she found out about it and used them to cover her tracks."

Misao looked up. "You think Kaoru is the hacker."

Aoshi looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure yet. I know that a Mr. Jiro Kalman's story was backed up by the Tokyo police and only Saitoh has records for her. There is the off chance that that particular department got their hands through a leak in Saitoh's system, but it's doubtful. Which makes me suspicious. Saitoh is looking into it."

Misao twisted her hands into his hair just behind his ears and frowned. "I don't like this. There is something we are missing. Has Kenshin gotten her to talk yet?"

Aoshi was watching the way her eyes flickered with thought as she scanned the documents again. "No."

Misao sighed. "That man should just bend her over and kiss her senseless." Her words were barely out of her mouth before she found herself bent backwards against the chair with a hot, rich mouth capturing hers. A long moment later her ragged breathing was apparent. "Something like that?"

Misao smiled at him and brought his head back down.

* * *

Kaoru opened her eyes, her body perfectly still in the darkness of early morning. Her heart was pounding painfully in her ears and she could feel the heat of the man behind her. There was an arm casually thrown across her waist; an assurance that she wasn't asleep and the nightmare that was still clutching at her subconscious wasn't real. It was never real. However, her body had been trained since she was a child to remain still upon waking and never, ever cry out. She had gotten too good at it, that even when she cried the only way to tell was the change of her breathing. Her tears were soundless and her body hardly shook anymore. She couldn't count the number of nights she had curled up in some alley and let silent tears roll down her face as she shivered in her clothing and mourned the loss of her mother's warm arms to bite back the chill.

There was no way to describe how badly she wanted to turn around and accept the heat of his half-embrace, to curl herself around him and let his body quietly assure her that for now, her father couldn't touch her. He would find her eventually, and she knew one day he would kill her. Until then, she should be able to accept the heat Kenshin was offering her once, right? He didn't act like he would mind since only careful inching of her own body had allowed her to move this far away from him. Slowly, to see if she was waking him, she turned slight, inch by inch and watched him sleep. The heavy curtains blocked out any light so only the faintest brushing of light from the bathroom light he had left on for her, after shutting the door, was seen. He looked like he was still asleep but she never quite knew. Facing him like this was even worse because she needed just a few more inches to be pressed against him. Chewing on her bottom lip and watching his face carefully for any sign of waking, she slipped closer to his body until she had to ease her aching foot over his and slip her bad arm between their bodies. She didn't dare quite touch him, so she let the steady rhythm of his breathing lull her back to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning the inch or so between them had disappeared. She wasn't sure what had woken her, but her cheek was pressed against the hard muscle of his chest and both her legs were somehow tossed over his. Her bad arm was asleep and wrapped around his slim waist while her good was running parallel against his body until her fingers were tangled in his hair. A flush heated against her cheeks at their position. She was no stranger to a man's body; she knew what comfort sex was. Granted, it had only lasted about five minutes in the back of someone's car and, while the couple of guys had been nice enough to get her off after they had finished, she doubted that was what sex was supposed to have been like.

However, none of the men she had messed around with had Kenshin's hard physique and warm ginger smell. Neither did they currently have one hand wrapped around her waist so that his hand was resting against her stomach and against her bare skin with the other hand partly up her t-shirt sleeve to hold her in place.

How was she going to get out of this without waking him up?

She wasn't, she realized with a frown as she was forced to rest against his hard frame like that was where she was supposed to be. Something inside her belly fluttered in excitement at the idea of waking up wrapped around him for the rest of her stay and she not only mentally jumped up and down on it, she grabbed a shovel and buried it. Sighing and shifting in his arms, she squeaked in surprise when he rolled slightly so his nose was pressed just below her ear and her body was cradled protectively with his, his weight pressing against her shoulders instead of her ribs. "Morning," he breathed against her skin, placing small, nibbling kisses against the skin below her ear, and she saw white for a moment before gasping when his tongue flicked out lightly.

"Kenshin," Kaoru whispered her voice husky from sleep. "Kenshin Himura! Wake up! This is Kaoru, not lover in your bed, so will you wake up?"

That caused him to raise his head and give her look mixed with morning shades of violet and a gentle tinge of amber around his pupils. "I know who is in my bed, snapdragon." Her eyes widened as he nibbled lightly on her jaw, and she blinked rapidly when he pulled back.

"No," Kaoru said flatly. She met him square in the eyes and held his gaze. "No, Kenshin."

He watched her carefully before nodding. "You best hold onto that resolve, snapdragon. The minute it falters, you're mine," He smoothed back her bangs. "Until then, I won't touch you." There was a smile in his eyes that was reflected in the curve of his lips, wicked and patient. "Remember that. The minute you can't look me in the eye and tell me no, I will take you. But first, your ribs must heal enough for you to handle what I plan on doing to you."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him but he was untangling them, careful of her injuries. "Let's get you some coffee and breakfast. Here," he carefully arranged her and the pillows so she could relax against the headboard comfortably. He flicked on the morning news and left her the remote and she ended up muting it and reaching for one of the books on his nightstand. It was a mystery novel she had been waiting on her next paycheck to get so when he arrived with bacon, English muffins, and fried egg whites, she was several chapters into it. When had she told him that she hated yolk? The bacon and English muffin were easily picked up and he slathered it with the jelly he brought for her when prompted, and the eggs were already sliced into perfect squares so she could jab several clumsily with her fork.

"Alright," Kenshin said as he watched her finish off the last dregs of her coffee. "You can read, watch TV, I can hook up a laptop in the living room for you, or you can get your ass beat down in monopoly."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes at him. She knew a challenge when she heard one. Putting her mug down, she dragged her tongue along her lower lip to catch the last drops and ignored the look that caused. "If I remember correctly, the last time we played monopoly as a group, I won." She raised a brow. "Your memory going in your old age?"

An hour and unknown number of minutes later they were both glaring at the board, their expressions intense as they checked hotels, money-counts, and eyed each others pieces dangerously. Kaoru had Boardwalk, but Kenshin had Parkway. There were a handful of empty coke cans and two empty bowls that had once been popcorn. "You might as well give up," Kaoru chastised him. "I'm going to win."

Kenshin raised an eye brow. "So if I win do I get to pass go and collect $200?" there was a spark in his eyes that her chunking the dice at him.

"Get your head out of the gutter, old man," Kaoru warned as she rolled the dice, since it was her turn. Just before she could let the little numbered pieces roll, smirking a faint challenge, there was a knock on the door and Kenshin was already rising. How did that man _do_ that?

Misao bounded into the room with a squeal and Aoshi followed leisurely after her. Kaoru braced herself for the hug that was coming but somehow Misao managed to restrain herself and she simply bounced up and down from where she had thrown herself next to her friend, babbling a hundred miles per second about information Kaoru could translate only because of a year of friendship.

"I brought your cell-phone because I thought you would want it, I also paid your electric bill and you're not paying me back, and I brought over another bag of your things so you have something to wear besides Kenshin's shirts." Misao babbled without breathing. "What is that?" She paused in the middle of her rant to stare at the remains of the game she and Kenshin had been playing.

"Monopoly," Kenshin said easily. "We got bored and I was winning."

Misao stared at the board. She hadn't thought monopoly could be considered warfare but by the ruthless tactics that appeared to have been developed to steal as much money from the other as possible, that's just what it had become. "This looks like Wall-street, guerrilla warfare style."

Kaoru grinned wickedly. "I am winning." Aoshi said nothing as he looked over the board but it was apparent from his expression he was greatly amused. "I used to be the monopoly Queen in High school." Kaoru smirked at Kenshin and leaned back against the couch. "Thanks for bringing my things, Misao."

Misao shrugged. "A woman without her cell-phone is like a man without his personal anatomy. Lonely." Kaoru coughed to hide her laughter.

"I don't think I have ever heard it quite that way," Kaoru mused as she attempted to keep a straight face. "Thank you for clearing that up for me."

Misao waved her hand. "It was no big deal. Personally, when Kenshin starts to drive you crazy and starts using strange rules to get his way, yes he makes them up, call me and I will come and rescue you." She smiled a wide Itachi smile. "I handle wild animals who scream all the time." Behind her bangs her eyes cut to Aoshi and Kaoru really had to keep from laughing then because it hurt her ribs.

"Well, now that I am here, you two can go." Misao continued. "Now, Kaoru, what do you want on your half of the pizza?"

Kenshin blinked. "What?"

Misao gave him a very scary look. "This poor girl has been locked up with you for three days now. She needs breathing room. You're leaving. With Aoshi. Go and put your shoes on before I decide to maim you somewhere that might be a bit more important than your face. I need to have a girl talk with Kaoru anyway. We need to discuss the decorating scheme for her apartment when it gets renovated." She made a sniffing noise. "Aoshi, take him away."

Kaoru sighed and held the bridge of her nose as the men left. This was going to get tricky. "No."

Misao pouted, her wide, full mouth so striking in her cat-like face, pouted. "Why not?"

Kaoru crossed her arms. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it to you, to Kenshin, or to any more of those police officers who came in and tried to badger me." Her eyes were dark in her pale face. "I…why do you think you can help? Why did Kenshin name me wife, and why does Aoshi have a shoulder holster on his left arm? Tell me these things Misao, and I might be able to tell you."

Misao stared at her, her own eyes wide. "I…I don't know why Kenshin named you his wife." Her expression went hard. "No, I know. He has cared for you for a long time, Kaoru. That day we met was because of Kenshin. He liked your calves and your smile and was a bit enchanted with your temper." She allowed a bit of her serious expression to falter at Kaoru's snort.

"I am not a child that needs to be patronized." Kaoru informed her tightly, her eyes suddenly hooded. Misao blinked in surprise. She had never seen that expression on Kaoru's face and suddenly wondered if there wasn't some truth to that Jiro man's accusation. There had always been a sort of tempered steel mixed with wild flame in Kaoru's Chi but this…was something else. "I will not be given half truths and lies and expected to live off them." Her dark blue eyes burned with a stubborn will that Misao had only seen one other time. "I am sorry Misao. Once my leg has healed I will not bother all of you with this anymore. I don't know what you all have in your past, but I am not part of it and cannot be part of its future." Something pained flickered pale blue amongst the almost-black of her gaze. "I should never have allowed myself this as it is."

Misao was dumbfounded but forced herself to pay attention. She now knew there was something Kaoru hadn't been telling them. She had always known it, but now she knew for sure that those files were not telling her something. She made mental plans to call and chew on Hannya. "Kaoru, you have three bruised ribs, a broken wrist, a busted ankle, and stitches in various places. Where would you go?"

Kaoru gave her a pained, sad look. "That's an answer you have not earned."

* * *

When Kenshin came home Misao and Kaoru were playing Go Fish. There was an unusual air of…tension in the air and Misao's eyes were missing some of there sparkle. There were lines around Kaoru's mouth that hadn't been there before and Kenshin wondered at them, but when neither woman volunteered the information Kenshin was forced to sit on his hands and keep quiet. He had picked up some ingredients to make some sushi and he needed to get started so he could have dinner ready for when her appetite kicked in. He had plans to make her some of those California rolls she loved and a few Salmon rolls for some variety. He already had this saltwater rinse for the Salmon ready. The imitation crab sticks he had picked up were in the fridge and so he rinsed and started the rice. Once that was happily sitting on the back of his stove he went about making the sauce. Kenshin hummed to himself as he combined the vinegar, salt, and sugar; once the sugar melted he turned off the heat and let it cool. Kenshin easily set about peeling and slicing the cucumbers and avocadoes until it was time to pull out the crab sticks. Carefully he put everything on the large plate he had pulled down and lightly covered them with lemon juice. The lemon would keep everything from discoloring. Once he had his ingredients in the fridge he checked the rice.

He kept an ear on the living room as he sliced the smoked salmon he had picked up into thin strips. He had set out cream cheese earlier to let it hit room temperature and he set about preparing the mixture for the salmon rolls. He took some of the uncooked salmon he had rinsed in salt water and let it boil for ten minutes while he prepared the rest of his mixture. The rice was done so he carefully folded the rice a bit to break it up and then he poured the mixture he had prepared earlier over the rice and once it was carefully mixed he spread it over a large strip of aluminum to cool. The boiled salmon was finished so he blended it with cream cheese, tomato paste, lemon juice and the smallest amount of plain gelatin he could. Once that was blended he smeared the mixture on the smoked salmon and rolled them and slid a toothpick through them and stuck them in the fridge to cool.

Then he set about finishing the California rolls. The rice had cooled so he laid the bamboo mat out and placed the nori out after he covered the mat with plastic wrap. He spread a thin layer of rice over the nori and then arranged strips of avocado and put the cucumber in the middle of the strips and then piled crab meat and rolled everything. The recipe he used generally produced about 40 individual rolls and if Misao's voice said anything, whatever Kaoru didn't eat she or Aoshi would. Once everything was finished he piled the food onto two platters and then located the little bowls to pour the wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger that Aoshi favored into bowls so that they could dip the food if they wished.

He set the platters onto the low coffee table and pinned Misao's squeal with a glare. "Kaoru eats first. Then you can eat the leftovers." He warned as he placed the little bed tray she used to eat over her lap. He placed a full plate in front of her and calmly swatted at quick ninja fingers. "Touch those salmon rolls and I will tell Hiko you want to work with Cho." He warned softly, his eyes flicking her direction and she scowled.

Dinner proceeded with the sushi and salmon rolls disappearing long before Aoshi and Misao left and Kenshin munched a few but contented himself on some soup he had been nursing for a few days. A good pot of homemade beef stew was something he made every so often and lived off of until it was gone. He had tried to make do with a simple fare of crackers but Kaoru had all but shoved three of the dozen salmon rolls at him and gave him a look that dared him to argue with her. Kenshin felt something warm his insides at her concern, even if it was just to assuage some of her guilt for having him care for her. He noted with satisfaction that she cleaned off her plate and ate a few off the plate Misao had finally formed, much to Misao's chagrin. Whatever had happened between them had cleared up and if things were a bit quieter, that was fine.

Kenshin watched as Kaoru pulled her good leg up and rubbed like she was annoyed with something. He made a mental note and began gathering dishes and fetched one of the frozen strawberry fruit bars Kaoru was addicted to. It was something easy to eat one handed. Perhaps he could make her some miniature chocolate tarts? He ran the idea over in his head as he washed the dishes and waved to Misao and Aoshi when they left. Once his kitchen was clean again he left Kaoru to her own limited devices and set about getting the bathroom ready for his project.

Kaoru almost fell off the couch when Kenshin leaned over and dropped a lingering kiss on the corner of her mouth. She raised her eyes to his face startled. He acted like there was nothing out of the ordinary although she swore there was a spark of something smoldering back behind his eyes. However, she did yelp when he slid an arm under her knees and when his fingers traced across the small of her back just before his arm slid around her there as well as when he muscles flexed as he picked her up. She grasped his shoulders in surprise and blew both his and her hair out her eyes and growled at him. "Kenshin! What are you doing?"

Kenshin shifted her so that her hands clutched at him and her mouth pressed against the junction of his neck and shoulder. "Himura Kenshin," Kaoru growled as he set her down in his bathtub. He had padded the bottom and the back with some thick fluffy towels. However, it was when he went to tug on her shorts that she squeak and grabbed his wrists in surprise. "Stop!"

Kenshin smiled at her, the long strands of his hair falling over his shoulder. "I was going to shave your legs for you." Her grip slackened on his wrist and he took advantage of it to slip her shorts past her knees until she yelped and grabbed her shorts with her good hand and glared at him.

"No, you're not!" She squeaked, her cheeks darkening to rosy pink when she caught his eyes lingering on her thighs. She was almost sorry she hadn't worn some pretty underwear and then that made her blush more. Kenshin smiled at her blush and traced a finger down her hot cheek.

"Yes I am." He told her calmly, his eyes flecking with heated coals. "You might as well let me do this, Koishii," he tugged at her shorts again. "You're not going to be able to shave with one hand and keep your cast dry. Now, how far do you normally shave up your leg?" One of his fingers traced a line up her thigh and she squeaked when it hit the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Kenshin grinned at her.

"I'll stop there then."

Kaoru scowled when he finished pulling her shorts off and pulled the overlarge sock she had borrowed from him off her cast-foot and then pulled off her other sock as well. He ran a finger down the line of her toes with a thoughtful expression and Kaoru looked down at the chipped lavender toenail polish and thought about kicking him. However, he was turning the water on low and when it was warm enough his long tapered fingers were smoothing warm water across her good leg. Then he was smearing a generous amount of shaving cream across her calves.

"If you cut me," Kaoru scowled at him, "I won't be happy."

He shot her an amused grin and waved the razor under her scowling face. "Trust me, Kaoru. This is an issue we really must work on." Kaoru made a face and made a show of watching his movements but in truth she was fascinated by the flex of his wrist and fingers. The grasp of his hands on her ankle or calf as he steadied her so he could reach all those places she never really bothered with, such as behind her knees. He would flex her knee every which way to get all the small hairs that were such a pain. However, when his hands coaxed the razor up past her knee and halfway up her thigh she was hard pressed not to squeak and had almost swallowed once, twice.

He repeated the process with the other leg, minus where the cast was, and then lathered up his hands with her favorite jasmine body wash and carefully washed her legs free of residual shaving cream. He rinsed them with a cup she hadn't seen before he reached for it. He had tossed a small towel over the tops of her thighs so not to get her panties wet and once she was clean he picked her back up and settled her onto the edge of the stool in his bathroom. Kaoru scowled as she sat there, uncomfortable sitting there in nothing more than her t-shirt, bra, and panties. She heard a familiar click and looked down to see Kenshin pouring a liberal amount of lotion into his hand.

"What are you doing?" Kaoru squeaked when his hands enclosed her calves and smoothed lotion onto the newly shaved skin.

"Megumi reminded me that razor burn is not enjoyable and that shaving dries your skin out." Kenshin replied, lightly amused at the expression that crossed her face and how it changed into closed-eye bliss when he massaged her calf a little. Quirking a brow upwards, he applied a little more pressure and massaged the lotion up her leg. He couldn't help but repeat the process up past her knee which earned him her eyes flying open with a squeak and a pale blush staining her cheeks.

Politely he pretended not to notice but mentally filed the information away into the part of his brain he had donated to memorizing Kaoru Kamiya and set to applying lotion to the next leg. She didn't say anything so when he finished and smeared the last of the lotion lingering on his hands into her own hands careful to rub his thumb across the palms of her hands. "There," he softly said, standing up and hoisting her again. "Do you want a shower?"

Kaoru's face turned scarlet at the memory of her last shower and she shook her head. "No, I won't need to wash my hair until tomorrow," she squeaked and Kenshin took pity on her and contented himself to dropping a quick kiss on the edge of her lips. "Let's get you settled into bed then, shall we?"

Which was how she found herself tucked into his covers and flipping through the TV while he took a shower; he had offered to fetch her a book but her eyes were tired and she didn't think her attention span was going to be long enough to read something. Not with the memory of Kenshin's tapered fingers caressing her thighs. His touch had sent little sparks rolling up into her stomach and it had been almost embarrassing except she was almost a hundred percent sure he had been doing it on purpose.

Kaoru listened to the shower turn off and she sighed and flicked the TV off and curled into a fetal position and tried to fall asleep. Even with the sheets warmed with her body it was difficult. Her brain was still trying comprehend the feel of Kenshin on so many different levels that she couldn't sleep. Sighing she fisted her hands in his sheets and reminded herself that she needed to get out of his apartment and back on the streets as soon as possible. Kenshin was becoming more than a simple addiction; he was slowly becoming as valuable as her own heart beat, and it would get him killed.

* * *

Kaoru scowled as Kenshin pushed up the path to the Megumi's clinic. She had wanted crutches but the cast on her wrist had prevented that. Hopefully she could get it taken off today and be given the clear for walking. She had been a good girl the past few weeks and the added five pounds had proved it. Kenshin had done a good job of regulating what she could eat but with her damaged ankle and wrist any sort of exercise had almost been vetoed. Scowling at the thought of how out of shape she really was, she crossed her arms huffily. She had been in a constant bad mood since she realized that Kenshin wasn't treating her the way that he treated the rest of his female friends. Granted, she had thought it had at first had something to do with her being single, but she was starting to see a pattern she wasn't sure she liked.

"What are you going to do if you face gets stuck like that?" Kenshin's voice ghosted over the edge of her ear and she jumped. Tilting her just enough to scowl at him, she watched as something flickered through his eyes. Kaoru felt her stomach flutter with the expression and she jerked her head back down.

"It just means there is less work involved in glaring at you," Kaoru shot back, attempting to keep the desperation out of her voice. He had been easing her into whatever it was he was planning to do, and she was trying to dig her heels in. Kenshin gave a low chuckle in the back of his throat at her expression.

"Ah Kaoru," he teased as he opened the door and easily pushed her through, "the things you tempt me with."

Her good hand fisted in her lap.

"I was wondering when you two were going to show up," Megumi scolded as she walked around the corner, handing a clipboard to the woman across the next with a nod. The clinic itself was actually rather empty, Kenshin noticed with surprise. Megumi had a worn expression on her face that suggested it had just recently died down and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"Traffic was a bit nuts on the highway," Kenshin softly replied as he walked to the front and picked up Kaoru's paper work and filled it out with a practiced ease while Kaoru tapped her fingers on the metal of her wheelchair. "I take it we're not late?"

Megumi shook her head. "You're lucky things are dying down." She informed him and smiled at Kaoru. "If you will wheel her around back there is a technician who can go ahead and x-ray her arm to see how it's been healing."

Kenshin nodded his head and handed the clipboard back the nurse behind the desk and wheeled Kaoru back to the room Megumi had pointed out. Kenshin ignored the technician and picked her up and placed her on the table. The technician was a blonde-haired boy with a bright smile and a good natured expression as he shooed Kenshin out. The amused look in his eyes suggested that it wasn't the first time that he had dealt with Kenshin. Kaoru cooperated and even kept from growling in protest when he picked her up and put her in her chair.

"I am not an invalid," Kaoru muttered under her breath as the door opened and she was wheeled back into the hallway. Megumi and Kenshin were in deep conversation and stopped when they saw that she was coming.

"Once the x-rays are finished I will come in. If everything has gone right we will be able to take that cast off today. It will take about an hour if you want to go and grab something to eat," Megumi told them softly. She smiled at Kaoru. "There is a great little deli down the road that has nice soups and sandwiches."

Kaoru made a face. "I am getting to be very good with my left hand." She looked mournfully at the cast on her wrist. "I am, however, thoroughly sick of finger-foods."

Kenshin laughed at her and tugged lightly on her bangs, an affectionate move that had her swinging her cast at him so he had to dance out of her way. Megumi grinned at their good-natured teasing and shooed them away. Kaoru managed to wait until she was out the door before biting at him.

"If you don't stop treating me like an invalid," Kaoru warned him as he pushed her back out to the car, "I swear I am going to find a way to murder you in your sleep."

Kenshin grinned as her as he opened his car door. There was a wicked spark of mischievous fire in his eyes when he glanced back at her. "Now, darling, if you did that, then who would your curl up with at night when you get cold?"

Kaoru swatted at him with her cast for good measure, then attempted it again when he laughed at her. Eventually they both were settled into the car and Kenshin was moving down the block. "You are not wheeling me into the deli." Kaoru told him, her lower lip jutting out dangerously.

Kenshin quirked a brow at her. "You are not walking."

Kaoru glared at him. "You are not carrying me or sticking me in that wheel chair. I am tired of being an invalid Kenshin!" Her voice was low and furious and he continued to drive. Kaoru wilted a bit. "Please." She added on an after note, mentally cringing at the sound of her voice. His jaw tightened and he didn't say anything else until after they were parked. Kaoru sighed in defeat when he shut his door and clumsily unbuckled herself. Turning when the door opened, she expected to see the damn wheel-chair; instead all she saw was Kenshin's long fingers as he waited patiently for her to take his hand.

She looked up to his face and hesitantly put her left hand into his and accepted his help to get out of the car. She squeaked a bit in surprise when he pulled her against his chest. "One time," he whispered into her hair, "just one time let me see you're in pain, and you're getting carried."

Kaoru smiled brightly and went to move out of his arms and frowned up at him when he refused to move. "You're going to use me as a crutch," he told her flatly. "Keep as much weight off your ankle as possible." Kaoru nodded and accepted his arm as she hobbled a bit into the restaurant, biting the cheek opposite to Kenshin to keep from screaming in frustration at her limp. How long was it going to take her to get rid of this damn issue?

Kenshin settled her into the table and went and placed their orders. Kaoru would have felt a little miffed if she wasn't used to this behavior. Besides, so far he had done pretty well in getting her food that she liked. Once she had her feet back though…

He came back with a coke for her and sweet-tea for himself. It always amused her that he had sighed over her choice of beverages so often when he dumped a good four packets of sugar into his tea. For someone who had such a sugar addiction she couldn't understand why he was so against her soda/caffeine addiction. Shrugging off the thought, she stretched her legs a little and sighed in bliss as she sipped her coke through the straw, enjoying the lazy atmosphere of the place. It was a quaint little shop with a homey atmosphere that would attract Megumi. Humming slightly along with the tune in her head, she blushed faintly when she caught Kenshin watching her with a lazy expression in his eyes that warmed her to her core.

'_You're not supposed to be attracted to him anymore,_' Kaoru reminded herself as she stabbed at ice-cubes with her straw. '_If you can't keep from caring for him now, what are you going to do when your injuries aren't impending what you see in his eyes?_'

"If you're lucky," Kenshin informed her softly, his voice muted in respect to the lazy atmosphere, "Megumi will let you get away with wearing a hard brace instead of that cast."

Kaoru sighed in pleasure of the thought. "This damn cast itches," she informed him irritably. "The idea of using a blow-dryer did help, but I want my fingers and hand back."

Kenshin's eyes glinted with amusement. "You are aware you're going to have to find a new weapon to use against me now." His mouth twitched. "No more attacking the innocent, defenseless man with the cast."

Kaoru kicked him in the ankle with her good foot. "You are never innocent or defenseless, and you deserved it," she set a mock glare on him. "I am sure I can come up with some sort of weapon to use against you." Her voice lowered threateningly and his smile bloomed into something more.

"Oh I am sure you can," he purred, his eyes darkening in color. He opened his mouth to say something that was going to be dangerous when their food was brought out. He had gotten her a chunky bread-bowl full of potato soup that would be easy to dip out with her left hand. For himself the women dropped off a bowl of broccoli and cheese soup.

Kaoru ate carefully, enjoying the soup. It was thick and was sprinkled with bacon bits, chives, and sour cream. The lunch was quiet as they enjoyed their meals. Kaoru discovered it was almost impossible to tear the bowl one-handed so Kenshin located her some crackers. Kenshin didn't rush her; instead he sat back and watched her when he was finished, something flickering in his eyes that made her nervous. The quirk to his lips told her he knew it, and she was relieved when he didn't press her.

Once she was finished he bundled her back out to the car and Kaoru found herself back in the clinic. Megumi had already prepared the room for her, and Kaoru bit her lip the entire time they were taking her cast off. Kenshin had been right about the brace, but it was better than the cast. This also meant she could start washing her own hair. She and Kenshin had come to a compromise. He would wash her hair when she wanted it done, but shower time was her time. He would simply tie a plastic bag around her wrist and he had bought her a little stool to sit on in the shower when her ankle started to protest. Showers took forever, but it was worth it.

"There," Megumi warned as she showed Kaoru how to put the brace on. "You can wash it in the washer when it gets dirty, but you might want to let it either air dry or blow-dry it so you don't bend the support." She gave Kaoru a droll look. "Trust me on that one."

Kaoru didn't say a word. Instead she nodded. "And my ankle?"

Megumi grinned at her. She had unwrapped the ace-bandage around the ankle and looked it over already, but hadn't said anything. "You can start putting pressure on it. A little at a time though. Don't rush things. I have given Kenshin a list of exercises you need to do with your wrist to build the muscles back up, and I will send him one for your ankle as well. They're basic exercises and I know he will make sure you do them. I would say in about two weeks you should be back on that foot with only a minor limp."

Kaoru grinned in relief and stuck her tongue out at Kenshin. "Which means I get to walk out to the car," she informed him triumphantly. He gave a long-suffering sigh and she laughed at him. Megumi had an amused expression on her face but didn't say anything as Kaoru gingerly stepped down.

"I want you to come back in two weeks," Megumi told her firmly. "You are going to need another check up before we put you in the clear. How are the pain meds going?"

Kaoru made a face. "I got off those a week ago, Megumi. That makes me loopy and ibuprofen works just fine."

Megumi nodded. "That's fine. You two have a safe trip home."

Kaoru practically beamed as she hooked her hands around Kenshin's forearm and limped her way out to the car.

* * *

Kaoru tested her weight against her ankle and nodded. After weeks of being hauled around like a sack of potatoes or being wrapped around his waist like a second skin, she was thankful she had been reduced to a simple limp. She was finally almost completely healed!

She was just thankful that the damage to her wrist was mostly healed. Megumi had wanted her to keep the brace on, even after her last check up, and she had obliged. Kenshin had been forcing her to her physical therapy with something that might have been obsession.

Kenshin's attitude towards her hadn't changed at all. Well, perhaps it was getting a bit more intense, but he was still treating her like she was made of glass. She was almost thankful for that because every time he dropped a kiss on the corner of her mouth she had the insane urge to turn her head and meet his mouth full on. Whatever he was doing was turning into a full out war!

He had started cuddling with her during movies, running his hands up and down her arms. He made a point to sit close enough that she could feel his body heat but nothing besides his hands would actually touch her. He would play with the ends of her hair and it only reminded her of his own silky-locks that she desperately fought the urge against feeling between her knuckles.

Kaoru almost sighed in relief when there was a knock on her door. Sweet distraction. "Kenshin, I will get it." Kenshin was in the kitchen making lunch. She had no idea what he was fixing her, but he had been getting creative lately since he was no longer limited to something easy to eat. Last night he had grilled steaks and her mouth still watered from how good they had been.

Kaoru looked out the peephole and froze. She must have made some sort of sound because Kenshin was suddenly at her side, looking down at her concerned. The knock repeated and Kaoru wrapped her hand around his wrist and swallowed hard. "It's…that officer again." She was terrified. Kenshin hadn't known that she had overheard his conversation with Aoshi a few days ago. Jiro had cornered Misao in an attempt to locate her and the Itachi had been so furious she had filed an official complaint. As far as Kaoru knew, Jiro wasn't allowed anywhere near Misao. She wasn't quite so lucky. Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he took in her pale expression. "I can tell him to leave."

Kaoru swallowed hard and told herself to get a grip. "He will just come back." She reminded him softly, closing her eyes as he hugged her. She breathed in the scent of his cologne and licked her lips.

Kenshin pulled back and then leaned down to the kiss the corner of her mouth. "If he starts asking difficult questions, I will ask him to leave." He opened the door and Jiro smiled as he took them both in.

"If I may come in?"

Kaoru felt ill. There was a manila folder in Jiro's hands and a smile on his face that had her stomach in knots. She saw Kenshin watching her out of the corner of his eyes and forced herself to relax, to breathe. It was once she had gotten her breathing regulated that she realized that she had driven her nails into Kenshin's arm. She didn't say anything, but she suddenly had the gut wrenching feeling that whatever was in that envelope wasn't going to be helping her sleep at night.

Kenshin sat close enough to her that she could hang onto his wrist. She smiled painfully at the man and was thankful that for once she had left her hair down to hide her expression from Kenshin. "Can I help you, Detective?" Kaoru asked softly, forcing herself to play her father's game.

"Please, call me Jiro," her father smoothly replied softly, his eyes glinting for a moment. "I just came by to make sure that you hadn't had any problems from anyone?" His tone was silky and confidant and Kaoru maintained her mask.

Kenshin spoke up which surprised her. "Nothing that we wouldn't have reported, since you have been so diligently checking up on the girls; Misao was rather….detailed in her explanation of your questions." Kenshin's voice was calm but there was something in it that startled her. Some edge, or shadow, that she hadn't seen in him before; she almost tilted her head to look at his profile but stopped when Jiro began to speak.

"I am just covering all of my bases," Jiro replied smoothly. "We have uncovered some evidence that we think will help jog your wife's memory." His mouth curved into a smile Kaoru recognized. It was the same smile he had just before he pulled out the hammer and beat her mother's face in. Kaoru's stomach sank.

He opened the file. "We couldn't figure out why your wife wouldn't testify or answer our questions, so we did some research. We found some pictures of an old case file that we think might be connected to Mrs. Himura, and we were hoping they would jog her memory. " He spread the content of the file out on the coffee table and Kaoru felt the air being forced out of her lungs like a hand was squeezing tightly. Her mother's broken, smashed face was in front of her and the long hands she had loved as a child were disjointed and shattered. She stared at the pictures and it took a moment to realize Kenshin wasn't next to her anymore but growling at the man in front of her. Her breath was coming in panicked bursts.

"We no longer think she is part of the mafia," Jiro assured him, not seeming bothered by the fact that Kenshin was inches from him, his jaw clenched tightly with his temper. "In fact, we think she may be running from them. The woman is believed to be her mother." Kaoru refrained from making a sound but her stomach upheaved, and the longer she stared at her mother the more the memories, the terror, seeped into her skin. "If she is a victim in this crime we will need her to come down to the station and look through some mug photos of past suspects…"

"Get out," Kenshin said softly, his tone liquid silk. "Or I will throw you out myself." There was a hard edge to his voice. "If you want her to come down to the station you can come up with something besides pictures." His voice was a low growl and his body was strung tight.

Jiro sneered at him and Kaoru missed what happened next because she was bolting for the bathroom as one of the pictures slid down to show her mother face up close where the double edges of the hammer had smashed into her eye, tearing out large strips of skin and caving in her cheekbone. Just like she remembered.

She was crying even as she lost what she had left of breakfast. She didn't care if her hair fell into the toilet or if she could taste her own stomach acid. Instead, she felt the pain of her wrist as put her weight on it as she gagged and choked, giving strangled sobs. He had brought her the pictures of the one nightmare she had failed to bury. The feeling of warm blood splashing against her skin as her mother covered her, the feeling of the hammer hitting her own back, the sounds of breaking bone…

She clutched at Kenshin. She didn't know when he had come in, or how she had ended up in his lap, but she clutched at him desperately and sobbed. Her good hand fisted and twisted in his clothes and her face was buried in his chest as she wept. Her body heaved silently as she gasped and gave dry sobs. His hands were buried in her hair and he was whispering against the skin of her neck, but she couldn't hear any of it past her own personal nightmare.

When she finally stopped crying she felt empty. She clung listlessly to Kenshin and accepted the tissue to blow her nose and then fell back against his chest. She didn't have the energy to push against him or fight him when he gathered her close and stood. She really didn't have the energy to explain and didn't even attempt to move her eyes from where they were settled on his forearm. She hoped he burned the pictures. She hadn't known her father had a camera at that time. The mafia he worked for must have taken them for some reason. Pictures were evidence and, as far as anyone knew her, mother had been killed when her car exploded for reasons that were never discovered. There hadn't been enough of her body left to find the marks in her bones.

However, when you were forced to watch someone ripped to pieces and broken and bashed apart, you never forgot. It had painted the back of her eyelids right up to the day that she had met Kenshin. Sometimes she still woke up breathless and crying, but it hadn't been as bad with Kenshin wrapped around her at night. But she knew the only way she was going to sleep was if she drank herself into a stupor or knocked herself out with something with a bit of a kick to it. Kenshin settled them onto his bed and she just lay across his chest, numb and hurting.

"Talk to me Kaoru," Kenshin urged quietly and Kaoru moved her fingers against his chest in protest. He smoothed her hair away from her face and his hands felt good against the overheated flesh on her face. "Was that really your mother?" Kaoru whimpered like an animal being kicked and he didn't say anything else, just pulled her closer and ran his hands up and down her back until she could breath properly again, but Kaoru never offered him any information.

They stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon. Kaoru figured the only thing that forced him out of the bed was the rumbling of their stomachs. Kaoru just laid there when he had left, staring listlessly at the wall, running the murder through her brain over and over and over. The one thought that colored everything was that she couldn't bring Kenshin into this.

Kenshin brought in cold ham sandwiches with two glasses of apple juice and she ate it automatically. She knew that if she refused the food he would pester her until she gave in and she didn't feel like dealing with him. So she ate her food and shook her head no to a shower and rolled over onto her side and ignored him. She needed to plan how to leave.

Her father hadn't been showing her the pictures of her mother's murder because he wanted to remind her of it. He was showing her how Kenshin was going to find her body. So this meant she was going to have to leave the next time Kenshin took one of his showers or somehow manage to get something into his apple juice and leave when he was drugged. She doubted the second option would work and she didn't know how fast she could get out of the building unassisted. No…she was going to have to plan this carefully. She was learning how Kenshin moved and operated. There had to be something she could use against him…some pattern or habit.

Curling away from him was difficult when she had become used to lying to close to his protective heat. It was some time into her chosen exile that she felt him climb into bed next to her. "Kaoru," he softly called her name but she ignored him. It was easy, to find a sort of numb feeling through everything that had happened.

He made no move to touch her, but she could practically feel the way his eyes bored into the back of her head. She made no move to answer, made no move to turn in his direction. On nights like these, sleep always evaded her and she didn't doubt for a moment that it would continue to do so.

She had the impression, however, that he would sleep as little as she.

* * *

A little shorter than I was planning on, but its still a good 22 pages. Hope you all like. This one is more of a transitional chapter I think but the next one should make up for it.

As always, feel free to drop your opinion.

--- R


	3. Chapter 3

The very last chapter.

Hopefully these thirty pages will wrap everything up. After multiple rewrites and the horror of final weeks this is finally complete. NO it has not been beta-read. I decided to go ahead and post it. My beta-reader has been sent the chapter and when she finds the time, she shall send it back and I shall repost it with the edits. Its the holidays. It might take her some time.

Otherwise, I have also set up a LJ. The link for it is posted on my FFN authors page. This bit of information is probably just more shameless promoting. More than likely. Err...

Ravyn

**Warning: More Violence. SMUT! VIOLENCE! MORE VIOLENCE! If you don't like sexual situations, please do not be offended by the content of this chapter. It is rated M for a reason. I have given clear warning. This is an adult chapter and that should be taken into consideration as you read this fic. **

**

* * *

**Misao rolled over and swatted around until she reached the phone and blearily turned it on. "Hello," Misao mumbled into the phone, forcing her eyes open to glare at the clock. _'Who in…_' 

"Misao," Kenshin's tense voice came over the line. "Is Aoshi there?" Misao frowned and buried her head into her pillow.

"No," She mumbled aware that he probably couldn't hear her and not really caring. "Got a call early this morning and went to go and check up on something that someone had found. I don't think it had anything to do with Kaoru's case...why?" She yawned loudly and waited for him to asnwer.

Kenshin was quite for long moments and she propped herself up. "Why?"

There was a long silence before Kenshin finally spoke. "Jiro showed up yesterday evening to talk to Kaoru." There was a tightness to his words that had Misao frowning. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes awake.

"Okay," Misao said, letting him know that she was awake and following along.

"He brought some picture over for Kaoru to look at and I.D." The frigid note rolled into his voice and Misao was suddenly awake. "They were of her mother."

Misao frowned. "So we have pictures of her mother. That should make things easier to go by," Misao mumbled to herself. She paused mid-thought when there wasn't an answer on the other side of the phone. "Kenshin?"

Kenshin was quite for long moments. "She was butchered Misao." He told her softly. "It looked like someone had taken something and deliberately beaten her to death and then tore stripes of skin out of her face. It could have been the pronged end of a hammer but I am not sure. I scent the pictures to Megumi for her to look at, so feel free to go and borrow them." His tone was hard. "If the way Kaoru reacted, then it wouldn't be far fetched to think she had watched it happen."

"Oh gods…" Misao breathed tossing the covers back. "Do you think that's why she is running from the mob? She witnessed the murder?" Her mind was racing with all the possibilities.

"I don't know," Kenshin finally said. "I would like to think that's the case but my gut instinct says it's something darker than that. That there is something else going on. I need you to find out what the official reason for Mrs. Kamiya's death was and I need to know as soon as possible. I also want to know where Mr. Kamiya is and if he had died, then what caused that death." He hesitated. "Kaoru hasn't really spoken since Jiro came by and I think she is planning something."

Misao frowned. "You don't think she would attempt to bail do you?"

Kenshin snorted. "If she thought it would protect us? In a heartbeat. I don't plan on giving her the option. Listen Misao, she is going to be waking up soon and I would prefer not to have to explain this to her right now. Find out what you can and then email me a report. I want something by tonight."

Misao grinned. "On it boss-man!" She hung up and then hit the speed dial for Hannya. "We need to talk!"

* * *

Kaoru bit the inside of her lip to keep from snapping at Sano. It wouldn't do any good, not when he was attempting to be positive in his own way. Clutching at his arms she continued to rock across the device he had brought by. It still amazed her that Sano had a degree in physical therapy but he did and he was being utterly stubborn about taking over for Kenshin. Her ankle rocked back and forth painfully and she forced herself not to making biting comments. The device itself was almost as if someone had cut a softball in half and glued it to the bored. She was rocking backing and forth in an attempt to strengthen her ankle. Sano was just providing balance. 

"I know that hurts, Jou-chan," Sano informed her lightly. "But if you're nice I will give you the orange Gatorade instead of the grape."

"If you want to be able to go home and snuggle with Megumi," Kaoru counted as she felt sweat start to build on her temples. "Then you're going to give me the orange."

Sano laughed at her.

Kaoru grunted a reply. She only had to survive five more minutes with this stupid exercise and then she would be done. She had already been forced to bounce on the tips of her toes on the mini-trampoline Kenshin had bought for ten minutes. The way they were treating this whole experience it was if they weren't attempting to just get her over the weakened muscles, they were attempted to cure her from weak ankles for the rest of her life. "Sano," Kaoru growled. "How much longer?"

Sano grinned at her. "Oh, you were done about two minutes ago but I wanted to see how long it took you to notice."

She hit him with her good hand as hard as she could in the gut. He made a _whoofing_ noise and bent over, his breath ghosting over her arms as she gingerly stepped down. The first day she had bounced right off and landed on her ass when her tired ankle had given out. Now she was bit more careful. Kaoru's eyes swung to the clock and she sighed. Kenshin took one or two days a week now to go to the law firm and check up on cases and files and to bring home more work for him to do when she watched a movie or napped. Not that she really minded him having work, at least he wasn't bothering her; but Sano was worse than a drill sergeant.

"You're getting better Jou-chan," Sano soothed as he handed her the long awaited Gatorade. "In fact, I would give you another two weeks before your back in top shape. Kenshin tells me you have been complaining about putting weight." He quirked his brows. "Do you want to do some crunches or something while I am here?"

Kaoru grinned at him. "Does Kenshin know your making that offer? The last time he caught me doing crunches I thought he was going to kill me." She made face. "I am telling you, that man has issues."

Sano chuckled and picked up the little board and went and put it next to the trampoline. "I think it's more of him attempting to tell you that he doesn't care what you look like. I am assuming you have your own routine. Why you don't you tell me what you normally do and we can work around that ankle and wrist?"

Kaoru sighed in relief and began to explain what exercises she normally did. She was a naturally curvy woman and she was short. She had a healthy appetite and knew her limitations so she worked to stay healthy and to keep the pounds off. It was very easy for her to gain and extra five to ten pounds and she liked where she had been before the attack. She would never be stick-skinny, but she was healthy and slender.

Sano put Kaoru through a full morning of exercises and only stopped when Kaoru was to tired to do anymore. Sano made her drink another of the Gatorades he had brought with him and they did some stretches to cool down before they turned the TV on and waited for Kenshin to come home to lunch. Somewhere along the way she must have drifted off because she woke up to the sounds of men talking in the kitchen and the sounds of dishes clinking as Kenshin set out the food.

"…Wore herself out." Sano's voice agreed. "Probably sick to death of sitting around. You know how active she is."

"And you two should have woke me up," Kaoru returned as she walked into the kitchen, her stomach finally filling her in on the Chinese take-out Kenshin had brought him. "I'm starving. If you even think about eating all the egg rolls this time Sano I will brain you with one of Kenshin's many large skillets." For some reason she had the urge to wrap her arms around Kenshin's waist and lean against him when he turned a soft smile in her direction. Stifling the urge, and the desire to know how it would feel to lean against him; she turned and slipped in front of Sano for the food.

Kaoru tried not the jump when she felt fingers trace down her spine an instant before Kenshin's cologne was noticeable and she felt his chin rest on her shoulder. "Don't you think you should eat more than that," he asked lightly. Kaoru drove her elbow backwards in slight warning before she grasped the spoon for the orange chicken. "If you would get out of my way."

Sano snorted. "What do you think you are going to get away with, Kaoru? Stealing all the orange chicken again….hey, leave some of that…Kenshin, your just letting her take the entire carton into the other room!"

* * *

Aoshi sipped on the cup of tea Misao had brought him and frowned at the computer screen. The information he was getting was still in to many wholes and jaggedly put together. He sighed to himself. Not only had his tea gone cold, but Misao had gone to hours ago. He hated letting her sleep alone. 

Frowning he continued to read the report and stood.

He had sent Hannya an email and was going to have to go and investigate this little problem himself. Saitoh had already agreed to meet him at the target, and then after that it would simply be a matter of locating whatever it was that had gone wrong. Something had obviously gone wrong.

The simple fact that the pictures Kenshin had given him of Kaoru's mothers murder didn't match up with her listed means of death suggested that. There was some sort of cover up going on, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Frowning when his fax-machine began to beep he turned and walked over and waited for it to finish printing. He blinked in surprise when a report he had forgotten about came in, he read the material. Something was nagging in the back of his brain. Setting in on top of the documents he was going to take with him, he quickly located the duffle bag he kept packed and went to join his lover in their bed.

As Misao curled into him, her small legs and arms wrapping around him tightly, he carefully re-memorized the feel of her to take with him.

* * *

Kaoru bit down on a light yawn as she propped herself up on the couch and blinked at the game on the TV. She wasn't a huge football fan, but she could see the attraction of watching people beat the tar out of each other. She absently noticed when Kenshin picked her legs up and sat down, letting her legs splay across his lap. 

It was a setting she had grown used to.

As usual, his hands found the tight knots in her calves so that she purred in pleasure, sighing to herself at how she could get used to this. Except she couldn't. The nervous fizzing of her stomach hit her hard, and she swallowed to herself. There was something about him that continuously beat her. A steady stream of safety and the desire to stay. She wanted to stay so badly that, at night, she would lay awake and watch him sleep. Sometimes she thought he was awake, and humoring her, but she was never certain.

With that thought, she realized that she needed to be heading to bed. If she wanted to fall asleep before Kenshin decided to curl up with her, then she needed to get going. She didn't particularly care to spend another night sleepless in his arms, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Shifting her weight she pushed herself up and tilted her head to tell him goodnight, when she finally noticed the look in his eyes.

'Uh oh…' Kaoru thought. Swallowing she tilted her head and attempted to give him an innocent look. "Kenshin," she started but her words died when flecks of amber crowded out the violet. Her legs were still tossed in his lap and his fingers were making little patterns just below her knee and there was something about his posture that suggested he didn't plan on letting her go just yet.

"We need to talk," he finally informed her, his dropping out of his normal careful tenor. Now it was deeper and she swallowed. He reached up and tangled his fingers in the hair behind her ear, trapping her so she couldn't move her head.

"I don't know," Kaoru tried, retreating behind her mask. She attempted to move her head back an inch or two, so she wasn't quite so close to his mouth, but he tightened his hold and she stilled. Instinct warred with her panic and she forced herself to relax.

"Why are you still running from me, Kaoru?" He finally asked her, his other hand coming to splay across her collarbones. He never took his eyes from hers as his thumb feathered across her pulse point.

Kaoru swallowed, acutely aware of how warm his hand was, that he could feel every breath she took. "Kenshin, I don't think…"

His brow arched a little and she quieted again. His thumb continued to thrum against her skin and she desperately attempted to keep from reacting to the motions. "We need to talk about this," he told her firmly. "I am tired of dancing around the subject and waiting for you to stop jumping at shadows. If you're going to run from your past, Kaoru, I would much rather prefer that you ran to me than away."

Kaoru met his gaze. "I am not running," she informed him firmly. 'I am practicing my Olympic sprinting.' She mentally informed him. However, the light that was suddenly burning behind his eyes had her stilling in warning.

"Is that so," he purred, the shift on her hands suddenly more than the casual touches they had been seconds ago. Kaoru opened her mouth to agree or argue with him, she wasn't sure, when he leaned in and kissed her.

Kaoru was startled enough that she didn't react right away, and then she couldn't. The hand along her throat had slipped behind her neck to hold her in place while he took complete possession of her mouth. Kaoru moaned low in her throat at the way his tongue stroked and tangled with hers, whimpering when he adjusted his hold to angle her mouth so he could devastate her. When he pulled back for air it was only long enough to let her breath while he shifted her forward so she was completely sprawled in his lap before he dipped his head against hers again.

She melted into him.

Kaoru tangled her hands in his thick hair and fished it between her fingers as she wiggled closer in an attempt to press against him. He made a noise in the back of his throat and her world spun for a moment as he lowered her back onto the couch, shifting so he could brace his weight on one-elbow. Somehow through the re-arranging of limbs he never took his mouth from hers.

Kaoru tossed one leg around the back of his thighs in an attempt to press closer to Kenshin as he continued to taste and explore her mouth, occasionally letting her breath and nipping at her jawline and kisses along her cheeks and nose. However, his little trips away from her lips never lasted long and she moaned again as he returned, his lips moving against hers as his tongue licked and flicked so she shivered underneath him.

Kaoru wasn't sure when she had unbuttoned his shirt but the smooth feel of his skin under her hands and the way he groaned low in his throat jarred her from her blissful haze. Swallowing as he breathed against her neck, she felt panic welling in her tummy.

'Oh no…'

Kenshin much have sensed her distress because he paused where he was nibbling along her shoulder and lifted his head to meet her eyes with his. They were burning hot and churning with emotion that terrified her.

"I can't do this," she babbled out so fast that she almost bit her tongue. She moved to struggle against him and he seemed torn but shifted backwards, his expression hardening as he watched her scramble to the end of the couch, her breath coming in heaves. Strands of her hair had been worked free from her ponytail and famed her wide-eyes and pale features. Her eyes were still dilated from his attentions and the decorative buttons in the front of her shirt were undone to show the curve of breast as her chest heaved. She was swallowing and fidgeting and he deliberately ran his tongue over his lips, tasting the lingering remains of his kiss. She stared at him and he raised a brow at her.

"Kaoru," he started softly, his voice so as he watched her tremble. "Kaoru, tell…" the noise of his cell phone broke the tense silence and Kenshin swore under his breath as he grabbed for it.

Kaoru took the opportunity to bolt leaving him to deal with Aoshi.

Kaoru all but ran into the bathroom and shut the door, her breathing ragged. The shower would have been the best option but the water facet was turned on instead and she locked the door. Sinking to her knees she bent so her upper-body was parallel to the floor and let the tears come. The pres of his mouth against hers, the horrible, twisting knowledge that she was tasting forbidden fruit; was hot and warm and addicting against her tongue. Her nails dug into the enamel floor and she slowly gained control of herself. Standing up careful of her sensitive ankle she washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror.

'_Don't be a fool Kamiya_.' Kaoru warned herself. '_You cannot have what is in that room. No matter what he offers you, if you accept it, then all that you're going to do is fall into a trap that will get both of you killed. Is that what you want? To know that you were the cause of his death? There. See. It's easier to breath now_.' Taking a deep breath she struggled for a few more moments, shutting her emotions behind a wall he had been chipping away at for weeks now. Breathing deeply between her nose, she made sure there was no sign of her tears and stepped into the living room.

She wasn't expecting what she saw.

Kenshin was standing in front of the window with his shirt unbuttoned all the way down the front. The carved muscles of his stomach were visible in shadowed relief due to the moonlight flowing through the window. The shirt hung lightly off his shoulders and the short sleeves showed off the sinew muscle of his forearms. His hair was mused and tangled from where her fingers had been buried knuckle deep and there was something about the line of his jaw that had her stomach fluttering.

"Kaoru," her name from his lips was almost purred and she visibly flinched. "Were not finished yet."

"Yes," Kaoru managed, an edge born from panic and fear sharpening her voice. "We are. You shouldn't have done that and I shouldn't have allowed you to." Kaoru took a deep steadying breath through her teeth. "It can't happen again. I should leave." She didn't want to leave. That knowledge shuddering down her spine but she bit down on the words before they could form. She had to leave. It wasn't about what _she_ wanted anymore.

He turned towards her so that his face was shadowed and only the glint of amber-fire flared at her from the planes of his face. His eyes and his jawline were the only things she could see. The butterflies intensified and she stifled her urge to bolt. "I want to know why you're running from me." He moved forward. She held her ground only because doing anything else would give him an excuse. "You _want_ me. Your body, your mouth, your eyes tell me that, Kaoru. You want me as much as I want you." There was a curl in his voice that shook her resolve. "I will have my answers, Kaoru."

Kaoru shook her head carefully taking a step backwards to give her more space. "The truth won't do you any good. I told you that. Stop pushing for answers I won't give her." She gritted her teeth at the look that flared in his eyes. "I can't tell you anything." He cleared the space between them so fast she didn't see him move. She would have stumbled back in reaction but one hand wrapped around her bicep and his fingers angled under her chin to force her eyes to met his.

"Can't," Kenshin quietly replied, her eyes focusing so she could read his expression. "Can't, Kaoru?" He trailed his fingers along her jaw so they could cup the curve of her face. "I don't believe you."

All the frustration of the past few months welled up inside her and she reacted. Her hands shot out to fist in the lapels of his shirt and she glared up at him. Couldn't he see that she was doing this for his own good? "I won't, Kenshin." She informed him tightly desperate to get her point across before he pulled them over the edge of the abyss. "Why won't you understand that? I won't let him hurt you. I won't let you put herself in the middle of this and I can't bare the idea of something going wrong." Her voice was a painful rasp as the words she had been biting back were wrenched from her. Her face was reflected in the burning amber of his eyes and she swallowed at her appearance. She looked wild and terrified and she stilled when she realized his thumb was stroking back and forth.

Kenshin absorbed her words as he took in the desperation in her face. Her hands were still fisted in his shirt but he was rather sure it was because she hadn't realized it yet. Reaching down her caught her delicate wrists and when her fingers loosened as she realized what she had said, brought them to the warmth of his mouth, smiling against her skin. "Is that so," he murmured against the sweetness of her skin. She jerked a bit but he held on easily, meeting her eyes with his as he dropped a light kiss against her knuckles. Lowering her hands he pressed her hands together and reached out with his free hand and cupped her jaw. Her lower lip was trembling again, and she was breathing heavily. Tilting her head up he caught the glitter in her eyes and smiled at her. He was aware that there was nothing reassuring in his expression, but couldn't help it. Her breath hitched in her throat. "I am afraid that's not going to be enough."

His voice was soft and silky and Kaoru was thankful her breathing was already rough because his tones were not making it easier on her. She squeaked as she was suddenly pulled against his bare chest so he could lean down and breathe his next words into her ear. "I want to know how far your resolve will take you, and how far I can you before you give into me."

Karou's eyes widened for a long moment before she jerked forcefully out of his hold and stumbled back, swallowing hard as his eyes narrowed. She continued to move backwards until her back hit the wall. He stalked forward, following her frantic motions, angling his body so there as only one direction for her to go. "I wouldn't run if I were you," he told her softly. "We are going to deal with this irrational fear of yours tonight. Running isn't going to solve your problem, Kaoru."

"I don't have a problem," Kaoru shot back as she flicked her eyes around, looking for an escape. "Keep your hands to yourself, Kenshin."

He chuckled lightly. "Kaoru if you didn't have a problem then why are you attempting to crawl through my walls?" Kaoru stilled and slowly raised her eyes to his face. He was watching her with eyes that were seeing far more than they should. He moved forward lightly, gracefully. "We have already proven you attracted to me and I refuse to continue to dance around the subject." His arms caged her between his body and the wall. "Don't you think its time we stopped, Kaoru?"

"This isn't a good idea," Kaoru whispered as she stared up at him. "It's to much of a risk…" his mouth settled over hers, cutting the sentence off. She whimpered in the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss, his tongue setting off sparks under her skin as his tongue tangled her with hers. Kaoru automatically fisted her hands into his shirt, hanging on tightly as her knees went weak. He pulled back just enough to allow her to breathe, his breath ghosting raggedly over her lips.

"I won't let you go this time," he told her raggedly. "You cannot possibly think I could ever let you go." Kaoru opened her mouth to argue but he was kissing her again, his hands lowering to trace the curves of her breasts and the flare of her hips. She whimpered into his mouth as his hands slid under her shirt, his calluses catching lightly against her skin. Both of them were breathing heavily when he released her mouth to taste the skin of her jaw, sliding down the smooth lines of her throat so she moaned when his tongue flickered out to rasp against her skin.

Kaoru shuddered as his teeth nipped at skin she hadn't been aware was quite so sensitive and she swallowed as his mouth curved against her throat. He continued to drop nibbling kissing along her throat and collarbones. Kaoru let go of his shirt and ran her hands across the expanse of his chest, feeling the way his muscles shifted under his skin and the firm expanse of his tummy. When his mouth settled back over hers she melted into him and slid her hands up so she could wrap her knuckles in his hair. He shoved a hard thigh between her legs, forcing her to straddle him; and continued to kiss her until she was breathless and shaking in his arms.

He didn't saw a word as he picked her up in a bridal hold and continued to kiss her. Kaoru wasn't paying much attention to anything other than what his mouth was doing to her own, but her eyes flew open in surprise when her back hit the soft bounce of his mattress. Swallowing hard when her eyes met hers, she stared up at him as he let his hands roam under her shirt. She closed her eyes and moaned when his fingers stroked sensitive hollows she had forgotten about. Her breath was coming in shorts pants as she absorbed his touch. She started when his hands began to tug her shirt up her tummy and she reached out and grasped his hands frantically. "Wait," Kaoru gasped, and he stilled and looked up at her.

"Kaoru," he said her name as a question and she struggled to find a way to explain.

"I'm…it's that…there are…" she screwed her eyes tightly shut again and let her breath shudder from her lungs. "There are scars." She told him in a small voice, tilting her head down and away from him. His fingers stroked just under her navel for several long moments, the tips of his fingers rasping back and forth.

"Do you trust me," he finally asked. She looked up at him startled, unsure at the expression on his face. Biting her bottom lip she swallowed again.

"Kenshin?" She asked softly, a knot forming in her stomach. Something flickered through his eyes and his mouth tilted at the edges.

"We have things to work on then," he murmured before lowering his head to kiss the taunt skin of her tummy, dipping his tongue into her navel, and dancing patterns across sensitive nerve endings that had her moaning. Carefully, inch by inch, he shifted her shirt until it rested just below her breasts. There were pale lines across her ribs that sometimes flared across her stomach. He traced each faint line with his tongue, lingering where her breath hitched and her body shifted under him.

He continued to shift her shirt upwards, pulling her upward so he could pull the shirt over her head. Tossing into the corner of the room he took in her pale form, outlined by the ink of her hair and the cotton of her bra, and he traced the scalloped edges with his fingertips he gave her a hungry glance that trailed across her skin. "You're beautiful," he told in her a husky voice that was as honest as it was rough and she stared at him for long moments. He smiled at her expression and leaned in to kiss her, sucking her bottom lip between his for a moment before lowering her back onto the bed. When she made a slight noise of protest he shushed her. "You can play next time," he purred as his hands trailed along her back to unhook her bra. He grinned as she pouted up at him but she helped him remove her bra anyway. Tossing the bits of white fabric in the generally direction the shirt had gone he let his gaze drink in the lines and curves of her chest, reaching up to brush his thumb across one peaked nipple.

That motion wrung a moan from Kaoru and he lifted his eyes to her face and did it again. She shuddered and bit her bottom lip. Enjoying the expressions that crossed her face he cupped the weight of her in his palms, caressing her lingeringly, enjoying the way her head tossed back and forth on the pillow. Lowering his head he kissed along her collarbones, sucking lightly at her pulse point. "You taste so good…" he murmured into the arch of her neck. He flicked the tip of his tongue against her skin again. Reluctantly he stopped his ministrations on her breasts and smoothed his hands down her stomach. She made a faint noise of protest that he silenced with his mouth. "Don't worry," he teased her as he hooked his fingers into the band of the boxers she wore. "You're going to like this."

He dragged her practical cotton panties with the boxers and followed the path of his hands so he could pull them off. Her socks came off next. Shrugging out of his own shirt his eyes slid up the length of her slender legs until he came to her thighs. Running his hands up the back of her legs as he crawled back up her, he paused as he felt the ridges of old scares under his fingers. Looking up he saw the expression that flickered through her eyes as he continued to trace the old scares with his fingers, hitching her legs up a bit so he could get a better feel for how far that went. "Kaoru," he murmured quietly. She bit her bottom lip. He continued to trace patterns along her skin. "Your going to tell me where each one of these came from someday," he told her softly. She looked started, so he leaned in to kiss expanse of her stomach again. His hands slid around so they could trace the silky skin of her inner-thighs, distracting her from the scars. A wicked smile curved his lips as he continued to memorize her thighs. Glancing up at her through his bangs he admired the pale column of her throat and the way chest heaved as she attempted to breathe around the sparks he knew he was setting off under her skin.

It was nothing compared to the reaction he got when his fingers slid just a little further north.

She gave a surprised shriek that faded into sobbing moans as he continued to stroke her, his other hand holding her hips firmly in place. Her upper bodytrembled and her right leg hooked around the back of his thighs as her body began to shake. Smiling he dipped his tongue into her navel and lapped at her skin, tracing her belly button with nibbling kisses as she suddenly shrieked his name; her entire body tightening before she went limp, her breathing ragged.

"I think _I_ liked that," Kenshin informed her as he shifted to his knees, levering himself up so he could unzip his pants, never taking his eyes from her heaving form. He pulled his clothing to his knees before bracing himself on one hand and kicking his pants and boxers off. Dazed blue-eyes followed his motions and he watched her swallow and stare with a surge of satisfaction. "Let see if we can do that again," he purred, crawling up her body to take her mouth for another heated kiss.

He was fire and heat again. Kaoru melted under him as he kissed her, running his tongue along the roof of her mouth and then tangling it with hers. She whimpered as his hands curved along her breasts, rubbing and stroking so that heat washed through her system again. Her cries would lost in his mouth as his hands continued downward, circling her navel and tracing the line of her hip and thigh. He carefully caught her just above the curve of her bottom and hefted her so that there hips pressed against other. Kaoru gasped against his lips as he pulled back to let her breath for a moment, pressing against her so that she shifted against him, attempting to press him where the throbbing ache was building again. He murmured something low and husky in the back of his throat and then he was there, slowly sliding into her. "Ooo…" Kaoru managed, the sound forced from her throat as Kenshin shivered above her. His breathing hissed through his teeth as he stilled in her arms. He didn't relax until she did and when he did finally give himself some sort of internal permission to move, he lit up lights behind her eyes she hadn't known were possible.

Kaoru kissed any skin she could reach while Kenshin continued to move, incoherent pleas and shrieks torn from her throat. She thought she might have gasped his name but it was hard to think about anything besides the warm fire that was spiraling through her veins and the way her body was striving for completion. Screaming his name as suddenly her world was awash with fire and sensation she could only gasp and breathe deeply as they both collapsed back onto the bed. His breath was hot against her shoulder as she tried to think past the warmth that lingered in her veins. Kenshin placed small kisses on her skin before rolling so that he could pull her against him, settling her comfortably against his chest.

"Do you know how long I have wanted you," he questioned her softly, slowly running his hands through her hair. Kaoru looked up at him and forced herself to shed the sleepiness that had settled over her.

"Why did you…" her words died as he pulled her close and kissed the skin of her shoulder.

"Because I can," he told her simply. "Because I want to." He pulled up enough to meet her eyes. "Aren't you tired of running, Kaoru?"

She swallowed and slowly nodded, lowering her eyes. "I don't know what else to do."

"Let me worry about that," he suggested, rolling so that she could press herself against the length of him. "Let me worry about everything."

Kaoru closed her eyes and memorized the feel of the moment. "You can't protect me from everything Kenshin." Her voice was drowsy but she needed for him to understand what she was trying to tell him. Her lashes fluttered open in surprise when his fingers left her hair to trail down her spine and cup her bottom.

"Your mine now," he told her softly, keeping his voice at a comforting rumble. "I take very good care of what is mine. Trust me." He quietly asked, moving to play with the ends of her hair as she relaxed into him, sliding towards sleep. "I won't let you down."

She stirred sleepily in his arms, sighing. "Just hold me," she whispered, her words drifting. Kenshin was content to hold her for long moments, the way her body was limp and trusting in his arms.

"I love you," he told her quietly, aware she was already asleep. "I will not let anything happen to you. I promise." Closing his eyes he gave into the sirens call for sleep.

* * *

Kaoru woke up to a cold nose nuzzling against her cheek and she swatted at it. A male chuckle rumbled next to her ear and she made a sleepy noise of complaint. A kiss pressed against the shell of her ear. 

"I'm going to head into the office for a few hours," his words were amused and she peeked open her eyes to glance at the clock. A disbelieving noise erupted from her throat and she buried her face back in the pillow in a clear sign of disapproving irritation. He laughed again and his hands brushed down her hair.

Only an insane man would wake her up at 5:30 to tell her he was going into the office. Especially when he had woken her up more than once during the night with his hands and persistent mouth. When she was a bit more awake, she was going to inform him that next time, he could leave a note. Rolling back over she didn't move again until it was half past ten. Yawning she forced herself to roll out of bed and enjoyed the fact that she had the apartment to herself. It didn't happen often and as she shifted she realized that certain regions were a bit sore. It wasn't just the idea of being able to indulge in a hot bath without being interrupted that appealed to her, but the idea of a having some time to think of the repercussions of sleeping with him.

Kaoru padded into the bathroom and turned on the taps, heating the water until it was almost to hot and left the tub to fill while she went and collected a mug of the coffee Kenshin had made before he left. Sighing in bliss she rummaged around and located a banana and some cream cheese to pile on a bagel. Humming to herself as she worked, she checked on the filling tub. On an after-though, she dumped in some of the bath salts Kenshin had bought her. The thick scent of jasmine wafted out of the steam and she sighed in bliss, setting up the little stool next to the tub so she could eat her breakfast while she soaked.

'_There is no doubt about it,'_ Kaoru told herself ruefully as she slid into the scalding water. '_You're becoming soft and spoiled._'

She couldn't quite seem to come up with the proper self-depreciation to climb out of the tub however. Sitting up once the stress-aches in her shoulders and neck faded a bit she sat up and leaned over the tub while she inhaled her bagel and sipped on her orange juice. As much as she loved her coffee, she would have to wait until the water cooled a bit before she could convince herself to drink it in the tub.

Settling back with a full stomach she stared at the chipped polish on her toes as she thought about the night before. Her lips twisted in amusement as her pink toes curled with the memory of what he done to her. Repeatedly. As if he was trying to prove a point to himself and to her.

'_Not that you can entirely blame the man,'_ Kaoru mused to herself_. 'You have been planning on running. He has to have picked up on that at some point._' She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Breathing in the scent of her favorite scent soothed her, but some nagging worry tugged at the back of her brain. '_Is this right? Can I let myself love him how he deserves to be loved, with the knowledge that my father is out there and is willing to kill him? Will kill him for his…affection for me?_' She chewed on her lip. _'Am I willing to fight for this?_'

That was the crux of the matter wasn't it?

Chewing on her bottom lip for long moments she exhaled hard enough to disturb the water. She knew that Kenshin was being as forthcoming about his past as she was with her own. What sort of man kept a pair of perfectly polished, used Katana's above his fireplace? '_Well it's not like you have gone out and asked for an explanation or details to his life, Kamiya_.' She mentally berated herself. _'Okay…so it's obvious that he knows how to defend himself._' Kaoru mentally rolled her eyes. That was the first thing she had noticed about him. The liquid grace he moved with, the way his frame was corded with muscle that had been earned. He never used those disgusting protein drinks she had seen some men use. No, anything he had had been beaten into him. '_So, knowing that he knows how to take care of himself, can you still risk him? More importantly, can you make that decision for him?'_

The obvious solution was to tell him everything and then to let him decide. However, something twisted and boiled inside her at that idea and she swallowed hard. How did you tell someone something like that? Just bring it up over coffee and pie or inform him when he came home? Write him a note…

Kaoru rolled that idea around in her head.

She could write him a letter of sorts she supposed. Tell him about Jiro and her mother and let him see if he wanted to know more, and if he did, give him more information. Break it to him in stages that she was broken in more than one way? '_It's a start_,' Kaoru decided. '_I know I'm not strong enough to break it to him all at once and that…okay. Stop there. Write the damn letter._'

Kaoru stood up fast enough to cause a bit of a wave to splash over the edge of the tub. She hardly noticed, however; as she reached for a towel and wrapped herself in it. She didn't both to pick up the shirt she had donned when she had crawled out of bed. Instead she bee-lined straight for Kenshin's desk, determined to write the letter while she had the guts to do so.

She had no idea how long she scribbled on some of the fine parchment she had located in one of his drawers, but when she scribbled her name at the bottom, her real name, she had filled two pages with her slightly sloppy writing. Taking a deep breath she scribbled his name on the front and sealed it. Setting in on top of some document she knew he would need later, she took a deep breath and headed for the bedroom to locate some clothing.

She grabbed some baggy cut-off sweats and instead of wearing something of her own, stole one of Kenshin's shirts. The scent of ginger soothed her twisting nerves as she flipped through the stations.

Around lunch she looked at the clock and wondered what was taking Kenshin so long to return home. He never stayed away this long if Sano wasn't coming over. Shrugging to herself she stood and remembered the mess she had left in the bathroom. With a flush to her face she went to clean it up.

The sounds of the door swinging open paused her movements and she turned with a smile to greet Kenshin.

She froze in sudden panic as her father and two goons walked through the door.

"Hello, daughter," Jiro softly purred in an icy voice. Next to him stood two hulking men, and she knew they didn't have to have a gun pointed at her. The expression in her fathers eyes was threat enough, promise enough, if she attempted to run. Her blood ran cold and she was thankful that her hands were at her sides because she knew the fine tremors of fear that were racing along her body would be most visible there.

As her father and his bullies came in, she forced herself to lift her chin and to square her shoulders. She would not allow him to intimidate her. Not now, not ever. Her gut rolled and clenched and she would never say she wasn't terrified, but she had known this was inevitable. '_God, please don't let Kenshin walk in that door…they will kill him…_'

"So nice of your lover to leave you all alone so that I could get to you," Jiro told her softly, reaching out to wrap his fingers in the stubborn locks of damp hair that refused to be put into a pony tail. His fingers tightened until it was almost painful but she refused to show him how sick she felt. A hard glint entered his eyes and she had a moment to brace herself before his hand cracked across her face brutally. She rocked back on her heels with the force of the blow.

Shock and pain filtered down her spine as the tang of her blood entered her mouth. The slap was out of his normal range of brutality and she felt a cold hard certainty knotted in her stomach; he did in fact plan on killing her. A sort of cold numbness settled over her. She had been preparing for this since the day she had decided to run. She supposed she should have felt resignation to her fate but to her surprise anger began to churn deep in her stomach. Her father was looking at her with eyes that were dead, filled with only the pleasure killing her would bring. She was angry because her father was going to kill her.

That was bad. If he saw her anger, her temper, he would attempt to break it from her before he killed her. She had known her life was on borrowed time so she struggled with her own anger now. This was Kenshin. This desire to live, to breathe, to love; it was Kenshin. '_Please,_' she thought as the two goons came to drag her away. '_Please forgive me for this weakness_.'

* * *

Kenshin unlocked the door to his apartment, a content feeling rising in his chest at the idea of seeing Kaoru. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a moment. He knew his lover was going to be a bit sore this morning, so he was going to have to keep his hands to himself. As he stepped into the room he took another deep breath and frowned. 

The apartment was silent.

There was something in the air, some sort of cologne, he didn't recognize.

"Kaoru," Kenshin called, forcing the rage and panic down into his gut. "Kaoru… darling?"

There was no answer. Forcing himself to move into the master bedroom to make sure he wasn't sleep, he prayed she was sleeping. 'You kept her up…logical,' he told himself as he moved with brisk steps to their room.

The bed was rumbled and pillows were on the floor from there play the night before.

There was no Kaoru.

He checked the bathroom. One of his shirts was crumpled in the corner of the room and there was a plate with a few bites of bagel, a half-empty mug of coffee, and a glass that looked like it had held juice at one point. The tub still held water and the scent of jasmine was heavy in the air but there still wasn't a sign of Kaoru.

Swearing under his breath now he tore the apartment apart looking for clues that she had simply gone to get some coffee. He ignored the little voice that pointed out there was still half a pot in the little maker in his kitchen. There were no signs of struggle and the scent of a male's cologne had disappeared. Yet, his gut instinct said something had gone wrong.

It was by accident that he noticed the envelope on his desk.

Picking it up, his worry ate at his stomach as he tore it open. Carefully printed sheets in Karou's handwriting fell onto his desk and he picked them up.

Ten minutes later he was on the phone with Misao.

"I. Want. Jiro. Found. NOW!" Kenshin barked, furious as he moved into his bedroom to pull out the box under his bed. "You have half an hour to report."

Cutting off the cell phone a grim smile tugged at his mouth as he looked at what was in his box. "It's been a while," he told the contents softly. "I think it might be time to make the rain bleed again."

* * *

Misao didn't slow as she saw the light switch to yellow in front of her. Instead she shifted gears and pressed her foot even further on the gas. Switching lanes she avoided the car in front of her by inches. Moving through the downtown streets at this speed was dangerous and she almost missed her exist ramp. Barely managing to keep from clipping the car next to her when she shifted over, she hit the highway with acceleration as she put her dainty foot all the way to the floor. 

Aoshi's flight was going to touch the ground in ten minutes and she was still half-an-hour out. She didn't bother to look at the speedometer as she raced traffic. Kenshin had called fifteen minutes and if her husband didn't have something to placate him, all they were going to be able to do was hope they got the to bodies before the police did.

How long had it been since she had heard that note in his voice, demanding response, action, and answers? How long had it been since she had been twelve, standing on a street corner, looking for scarlet, rain-drenched hair to come and take out the man in front of her? How long…Misao shifted her car into fifth gear and looked in her rear mirror for lights. There were none and she continued to breathe her prayer of thanks. She didn't plan on slowing anyway.

The information that Kenshin had told her ran over and over in her brain and she cursed herself for her lack of attention to something. Jiro was her _father._ Gods, what did that mean…

The security tapes had been stolen, Aoshi was getting off his plane, and Kaoru had written Kenshin a letter. Her vehicle skidded as she slammed on the brakes and whipped into an illegal parking space. She ignored the shouts from the police officers and took off, racing through the airport to where Aoshi would be. She hoped Hiko was still in the process of keeping tabs of his adopted son, because he was the only one who was going to talk sense in him when he was this furious.

She hoped her message on Saitoh's machine had gotten through. She needed all the information she could find on Jiro's police records and she needed them yesterday.

She hoped Aoshi's plan had landed, and she was feeling slightly winded as she skidded around corners, swearing as she heard and felt her heel break. Kicking off her shoes she kept going until she reached his gate and found him waiting, his bags at his feet.

"Aoshi!" Misao called out, knowing he was aware of her approach and that it was possible Hannya had already gotten him on the phone. The expression on her lovers face was as cold as the tone in Himura's face and she felt a bit of relief. His expression was not of a man who was furious at a lack of information, but the expression of a man who was ready to hunt.

Misao attempted to breath around her pounding. "I parked illegally." She informed him as he reached down to smoothly pick up his bags. "We need to hurry."

Aoshi raised a brow and stepped into pattern with her. "How long?"

"Kenshin says when he arrived he could still smell the cologne. I would say its been maybe two hours. There is a chance she is still alive." Misao said as she attempted to catch her breath.

Aoshi smiled. Misao blinked rapidly, because her lover rarely smiled. It was tight, a curling of cold malice on his lips that she would have put on someone else's mouth before his. "She is alive. Jiro wouldn't risk killing her just yet." His voice was low and dark. "Not before her buyers have paid him."

Misao's eyes went wide. "What?"

Aoshi didn't answer, instead his pace picked up so she was forced to quicken her steps. He suddenly looked down and frowned at her. "Where are your shoes?"

Misao gave him a dirty look. "Now isn't the time, just hurry up!" She picked up her pace and was formulating plans. Jiro…Kaoru….she almost skidded to a stop as Aoshi's words sank in but the firm grip he had on elbow was enough to keep her going and she swallowed hard. 'Oh gods…'

* * *

Kaoru curled around herself as she was tossed back into the little closet they had been keeping her in. Jiro had taken a great deal of delight of beating her into submission. He couldn't risk damaging her to badly, but he could do things that would hurt more tomorrow than they would today. The shot he had given to her ribs made it difficult to catch her breath and she could taste the blood from where her cheek had been split by her teeth. She had bitten through old scares as she kept from crying out at his precise blows. 

She listened to the voices outside argue. The huge brute who had been in the hotel room when she had been brought in had protested the beatings.

"If you damage the goods, you won't get full price." The giant warned her father, and Jiro gave a nasty chuckle.

"If this businessman of yours doesn't get here soon, then the deal is off." Jiro warned the taller man, seemingly unconcerned with the knowledge that breaking the contract could get him killed as well.

Kaoru tiredly leaned her head back against the wall and breathed in slowly. The idea of not being able to beat her senseless must have really irked him. Her scalp still tingled from where he had ripped her head from the carpet by gripping the base of her ponytail and jerking.

How could she have forgotten about his little part time trading?

Kaoru didn't move when the door opened and the large man's frame filled the doorway. He had a roll of duck tape in his hands and said nothing as the wrapped her ankles tightly together and then repeated the motions on her wrists. He said nothing as he finished and left her back in the dark closet. The room itself was roach infested and she felt herself shudder. Now that she couldn't move around she was probably going to have to deal with the little critters. Her stomach rolled.

She was forced to keep her mind off her own imagination of bugs crawling around and gritted her teeth as she stayed there. She knew this was another one of her father's mental games and she felt no need to fall prey to it. Instead, she thought about the feel of Kenshin's hands on her body and the taste of his skin on her tongue. The warmth of his arms as he curled around her and let her sleep feeling safe and protected; his habit of sliding one hand under her shirt to rest against her waist, even when they hadn't been sleeping together.

Lowering her nose as close to the collar of Kenshin's shirt as she could, she breathed deeply, looking for some remnant of the scent of his skin. She had fretted that morning if she was going to be able to stay with him and tears prickled at the idea that the decision had been taken away from them. She knew he would be looking for her. The idea that he might find her letter filled her with hope, but it died almost as quickly. He could still be at the office, unaware she had been taken. When he did find the letter it would be too late. Trembling with the force of her emotions she leaned against the wall and let her head fall forward.

'_What a horrible moment to realize what you feel Kamiya_,' Kaoru thought desperately. '_Perhaps…no._' she slumped.

There were already voices outside the closet. He wasn't going to be able to save her this time.

Kaoru knew the drill. Her mother had been put through the paces when she was a child in an attempt to break her spirit. Kaoru had been forced to watch. It had taken her years to get over that particular trauma, but at least she knew what to expect. Her mouth trembled a little and she knew that Kenshin's touch was going to be her shield. The men who were going to buy her were going to want to test her out. Being raped in front of her smirking father was going to be shot at breaking her, and if that didn't work, then they would simply hand her over to someone with more…expertise.

There was the off chance that she would be able to make a break for it. Kenshin had forced her to memorize several phone numbers and she knew if she dialed on they might be able to find her. However, if she was caught by the syndicate group who was going to sell her as a whore, then the punishment would be far worse than she could imagine. Her subconscious wasn't ready to let go of the fact that Kenshin was going to be looking for her and she wasn't sure she wanted to let go of it either.

Kaoru mentally prepared a shield as the voices rose in pitch outside. She tried to listen to them, the walls were thin, but her breathing kept echoing strangely back at her. There was a single blare of gunfire and her stomach lurched into her throat and she shivered uncontrollably. The next second light streamed into the little closet and she was left blinking as she attempted to focus on the frame in front of her.

* * *

Kenshin snapped the cuffs of his business suit into place, his movements almost jerky. It was the closest Misao could remember the man moving without his normal grace and she winced. His eyes were still burning amber, even narrowed in the permanent slits they had been reduces to the past hour as Aoshi arranged everything. Was it really only three to four hours since the woman had been taken from Kenshin's apartment? 

Kenshin was glaring moodily at the shabby little roach invested hotels that Aoshi had been informed was his location. The two bodies they had shoved in the back of the SUV were signs of the actual contacts where supposed to have been meeting to pick Kaoru up. Misao figured that Aoshi and Kenshin hadn't quite killed them slowly enough. She was thankful they had the place of mind to wrap them in a tarp.

"If your sources are wrong," Kenshin started, turning a bit so only his sharp profile was visible. Misao wanted to roll her eye as she adjusted her wig in the mirror she had set up, realizing that she as _never_ meant to be a blonde. Aoshi could defend himself.

Aoshi's words were clipped and precise as he set up his own disguise. Misao decided that Aoshi was never meant to have a mustache either. "My sources are precise and correct," he told Kenshin irritably. "Your wife is as safe as we can make her." He turned and gave Kenshin a considering look. "You cannot kill him. No matter the shape she is in, hands off. He has not raped her, nor," he gave the dead bodies a pointed look. "Will he be able to touch her again. There is the possibility that he has attempted to…soften her up a bit."

Misao felt her own bright pink lips thin into a straight line. Adjusting her skirt so it rode a little higher on her thighs she ignored Aoshi's look. The dainty little shoes she had on wouldn't hold up if they broke out into a scuffle, but that was why she had knife sheathed just an inch above her hem-line. It was amazing what past school uniforms had taught her about weapons.

When she finally looked up she gave them men a brilliant grin. "They will pay for that as well," she pointed out. "A few punches and kicks are easily healed. If we screw up and die then her fate will be a lot worse. Buck up. She will be fine after a few months of spoiling and loving care." Her eyes took on a wicked caste. "Whenever you gentlemen are ready, I am quite prepared."

Kenshin offered her a smile that was a sharp as a daggers blade. "Yes, he will." He looked at Aoshi. "I am assuming that his…trip is completely funded and that you took the appropriate credit from my account?"

Aoshi gathered up the fake briefcases and gave a curt nod. "Of course."

Kenshin accepted his and began to move in the direction of the hotel. "Good. Make sure the buyers understand he is to live as long as possible. I want him to suffer."

Aoshi's smile was just as sharp. "Of course."

The place Jiro had chosen was dank and dark. Hiding from peering eyes behind shuttered windows was easy. Kenshin ignored the click of Misao's heels on the concrete and fought down his blood lust. Misao had covered his read hair with a short, black wig and the sunglasses he wore covered his eyes. Between the bangs on the wig and the dark lighting the scarlet of his brows was hidden.

Stepping over broken glass and empty bottles he waited for Aoshi to knock on the door, making an effort at looking bored. He could sense Kaoru's Chi inside the room and she was hurting and worn. He wanted to rush inside and rip things apart with his hand and he wanted to pull her against his chest and never let her go. Misao was clutching his arm and cooing up at him, hiding the frigid glitter of revenge in her eyes.

The door opened and a large man with dark skin looked at them for long moments before letting them in. Kenshin had to curb his instinct to lunge when he finally saw Jiro. There were flecks of blood staining his shirt and he looked a little haggard, but there was a twisted smile on his face and his eyes were wild as he examined them.

"Did you bring the money?" Jiro demanded fiercely, pacing back and forth along side a bed that had been stripped of its pillows, blanket, and top sheet. Kenshin's stomach churned with the force of his temper as he realized exactly what Jiro expected to happen.

Jiro's head turned toward him suspiciously but he didn't move.

It was the man in the back of the room who made the first move. Misao saw his hand go for his gun and something in the back of her brain worked on what had gone wrong even as she tugged the knife from her thigh and chunked it, catching the man who had drawn his gun in the throat.

The sound of a gun going off startled her and she spun to see Aoshi holding a smoking gun. Jiro fell to his knees, clutching his hand, and Misao took a great deal of delight in kicking in the sternum. He coughed and gasped and Aoshi finished it off by bringing the gun down on the back of his head.

Kenshin was already yanking the closet doors open.

"Dammit," Misao muttered as she looked around. "I thought Hiko had taken you for acting lessons," she sighed as she realized that Kenshin wasn't paying attention.

Kenshin let his eyes adjust and saw Kaoru looking up at him. She didn't make a noise when he reached down and picked her up and he realized that she didn't recognize him. There was a slightly glazed look to her eyes. Setting her down on the made bed, he reached up and pulled his hat and wig off, ripping off his glasses and taking her face between his hands. "Kaoru, darling, it's alright."

Kaoru hadn't been able to stop her instant reaction to the knowledge of what was going to happen. The moment the light had shattered her darkness in the closet she had retreated like she had as a child. However, she slowly became aware of her surroundings when she realized that she could hear Kenshin's voice.

Uncertain she allowed her eyes to focus and stared at the man in front of her. She swallowed hard and fought down her instant urge to throw herself in his arms and bawl like a baby, but couldn't quite stop the way her body was taken over with fine tremors as he worked to cut the tape from her arms. She hardly noticed as the tape was pulled away from her skin or her ankles. Instead she concentrated on the bright blur of his hair and clamped her teeth shut.

After that she couldn't quite breathe around the coat Kenshin wore as he pulled her against him and held onto her as if he was afraid she was going to disappear. Since she was afraid of the same thing, she held on just as tightly.

"Please don't cry," Kenshin whispered against her ear raggedly and Kaoru was startled to realize that tears were slipping down her face. That brought on a storm of reaction and she wondered if it was possible to shake yourself apart. She heard the sounds of whispers and then Kenshin was lifting her again, and the cool night hair was against her bare feet and the back of her neck. She didn't quite know where she was, but suddenly the sound of a car door entered her fogged brain and the air was gone and she was being held on his lap while he rocked her back and forth.

* * *

Kaoru woke up gasping and found she couldn't breathe. The sheets were wrapped around her legs and waist and the night was sucking her and she struggling past the led in her dreams. An familiar body was pressed against her and she desperately attempted to sit up. The man at her side stirred and she gasped in fright until a familiar voice broke through her terror. 

"Kaoru," his voice was sleepy as he sat up and pulled her against his chest. "Sush, it's alright." He crooned, letting her press against his naked chest, wrapping around herself around him as if he was a lifeline. She never cried, not after that first night. She just gasped painfully against his skin and once she realized who he was, plastered herself against him as if he was the only thing that was keeping her from flying apart.

Once her breathing slowed down he lay back down, knowing she would curl against him. She did, her thighs tangling with his as she clutched at him. He smoothed his hands down her bare back and felt her relax. But he knew that she wasn't going to be able to sleep for sometime.

"Kaoru," he softly questioned. She stilled against him. "I think you need to talk about this. It's not getting any better."

Her breath exhaled against his chest. "I know," she finally whispered, her voice raw. She shivered in his arms. "I…it's not…you…" she whispered brokenly, so he rubbed his hands soothingly down her spine.

"I know." He told her softly. "You need to talk about it. Holding it in is only going to make it worse."

She trembled for a heartbeat and then stopped. It never ceased to amaze him how much control she had over her emotions, or that she trusted enough to breach that control as often as she did. His heart broke at her hiccupping breaths but he stayed quite until with broken sentences she softly began to talk.

He stayed up most the night, just listening to her quietly speak, occasionally distracting her with the movements of his hands, but allowing her to finish her tale before shifting so he could burry his face in her neck and wrap himself around her.

He didn't sleep for a very, very long time.

* * *

Kaoru sighed as she woke up, sprawled out under her and Kenshin's sheets. She heard the sounds of him talking in what sounded like the Kitchen and groaned as she realized the time. He had let her sleep in again. '_What did I tell him about waking me up before ten? Much less letting me sleep till almost noon?_' Kaoru groaned as she rolled onto her back and tried to wake herself up. She had accused of turning off her alarm or re-setting it, but he had just smiled and said nothing. Once or twice she had even woken to the damn clock being unplugged. 

She showered quickly and settled for a pair of baggy jeans and a ridiculous Donald duck T-shirt Kenshin had bought her on a whim. It was comfortable, and she smiled every time she wore it. This, she thought, might have been the point.

Twisting her damp hair into a messy bun she walked into the kitchen to see Kenshin discussing something with a mountain of a man who looked vaguely familiar. She thought his name might have been Hiko or something, but was uncertain and not willing to say anything. Kenshin, however, looked up the moment she entered and smiled at her. She gave him a fierce glare and dug around for his keys and came up triumphantly. Both men had stopped there conversation in order to look up as she walked into the room.

Frowning at the men who stood there watching her, she scowled at them. "What on earth is going on here that I deserve those looks?"

"Convincing your husband that he needs to put a bit more time in the office," Hiko replied easily. He didn't look apologetic and Kaoru wondered faintly if anything she would ever do would rattle that man.

Probably not.

Kenshin looked miffed enough that Kaoru wondered if all those times he had been going to work had actually been something different. She also had the faint feeling that his work schedule wasn't everything they had been talking about. Shrugging to herself, she knew when to give men privacy, she started to dig around for Kenshin's car keys. He had wanted to get her a vehicle but the idea of him spending that sort of money on her had almost had her in palpitations.

"Where are you going?" Kenshin asked, raising a brow from where he had left Hiko in the living area. He rolled his eyes when she stuck her tongue out at him and dangled the car keys off her index finger.

Kaoru grinned at him. "I want ice cream, plus if I leave, you two can talk without having to dancing around the subject." She shrugged. "I can always beat it out of you later." Assuming, of course, that she wanted to know.

Kenshin's brow had risen into his hairline. "Ice cream? You haven't even had breakfast yet." He accused lightly.

Kaoru shrugged at him. "That's what you get for letting me sleep in so late." She blew him a kiss and attempted to skip by him. Instead, his arm snaked out and caught her around the hips and pulled her backwards so he could place a lingering kiss on her laughing mouth. "Pick up a carton, and I will help you eat it," he suggested, his eyes flickering with the possibility of more than ice cream.

"Greedy," she accused him but she disappeared anyway.

Kenshin waited until the door closed before the line in his shoulders tightened again. "Are you sure there is no way…"

Hiko snorted. "I took care of the details personally, Baka Deshi. Do you think I would risk something like that coming back to bite you in the ass when I am not around to pick up the pieces." He considered rolling his eyes, and realized it was beneath him. "The slave ring that I sold him to will take very good care of him." There was a nasty note in his voice. "I must admit, you sudden insight into devilry amuses me."

Kenshin closed his eyes and leaned against the counter for long moments. When his eyes opened they were pale gold. "I have already had Aoshi set up a false trail of documents and locate a banker who will suit our purposes. Aoshi has set it up so that the money from the sale of her father will be transferred into a new bank with the appearance of being transferred from different banks every two years. There is a lock box set up with all of the pass codes and records for her to find." He took a deep breath and some of the gold faded from his eyes.

"You think having her own money, and a good deal of it; is going to make things easier for her." Hiko guessed, watching his adopted son look down at the ring that he still wore.

"Yes," Kenshin deftly stated. "It will. She needs that kind of security. I don't think she knows it yet, but living with me, depending on me, because she has no other means, it grates on her. She needs to know she can care for herself if something were to change."

Hiko watched him for a moment. "Is something going to change?"

Kenshin looked up, and his eyes were storm violet now. "No. She removed those rings because she isn't sure if she wants them. Legally, we are married now. However, I am willing to wait on her. Its one thing to have someone she can turn to, to share a bed with, it's another idea all together to have a husband who controls her." His mouth curved. "I do not need to control her life to be happy and she will soon learn that. The idea that she can be her own person inside a marriage hasn't occurred to her yet."

Hiko stood. "When this sudden bright spot of intelligence fails you, I will kick your ass." Hiko warned as he gathered his briefcase. "There won't be enough left of you for Megumi to put back together."

Kenshin nodded his head in acceptance.

* * *

He brought up much later than she thought he would. 

She was in the new apartment Kenshin had picked out and moved her into without her express permission, or her opinion, for that matter. However, the apartment itself was breathtaking. There were two bedrooms, hardwood floors, a balcony, a spaceous kitchen that gave her room to run when Kenshin realized she was invading his personal territory, and a Jacuzzi bathtub that had been…used, by both, more than once.

Her absolute favorite addition of the little place was the little corner he had set up so she could read/nap/sulk in peace. Kenshin had bought various sized small bookshelves and lined the walls and then set them up in a little semi-circle that was staggered. There were variants of plants. Ivy, a few potted flowers he wouldn't tell her what they were, and her favorite, various types of bamboo. Between the shelves there were various potted tress. Kenshin had rattled of the names, something to do with weeping orange trees or miniature figs. She had really ignored him when he started rattling about care and cleaning….

But the part she adored the most was the little hammock he had strung up for her to relax in while she did her thing. The bookshelves and the plans and the wide window that overlooked the balcony; and she loved it. She was able to watch him grill outside, or watch the little birds come and pecks up the seed he set out. There was the occasional squirrel that stuffed its cheeks and then bolted.

Against a corner there was a single fat, squared cushion that was set in a build in window-seat that Kenshin would sit on when he wanted to talk to her when she had retreated. It didn't happen often, but if she had fallen asleep basking in the sunlight, she would wakeup more often than not to Kenshin sipping a mug of tea watching her.

She wondered if the idea of her being gone when he came home at night still kept him up as often as it did her. She hadn't expected to look up from her book and find him watching her with a expression more serious than anything she had seen on him in weeks.

They had never really talked about moving in with each other. She supposed she could have thrown a fit if she wanted her own place, but she found she really didn't. He had given her a place to have her own space, had never stepped on the personal boundaries she had raised. In fact, he was almost to careful not to distress her. It had been almost a month since that day Hiko had brought over an old will they had found in a hidden lockbox her mother had managed to hide. The fact that she was now independently wealthy had taken some getting used to. Almost as much time as the knowledge that her father was never going to come after her again; Kenshin had been something she could cling to as she forced herself to find something new to hold onto.

She recognized the expression in his eyes. Swallowing she rested her book on her stomach and watched him watch her. She wondered if she was going to have to start the conversation or if she could wait until he started getting it off his chest.

"When I was ten Hiko adopted me." He told her quietly.

Kaoru started in surprise and almost fell out of the hammock. He caught her, rising easily and steadying the hammock as she stared up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "You don't…" the pads of his fingers settled over her lips and quieted.

"When I was ten Hiko adopted me and brought me into a different world." He told her softly, his eyes focusing slightly inward. "There are dates and names and places I can tell you about, but there irrelevant. He taught me how to live, Kaoru." Something hot flickered through his eyes for a moment before it settled. "And in the process I learned how to teach others the same way."

She nipped at his fingers and he quirked a smile at her and reluctantly removed them from her mouth. "Sano or Aoshi first?" She asked softly.

"Aoshi," he told her quietly. "He had already carved a path for himself but needed…guidance. I could not give that to him, and Hiko didn't want to try." His lips curved slightly. "He floundered for a bit, until he started collecting his own strays. Then he had to find himself."

Kaoru watched as his mouth curved into something…wicked.

"His world changed when he found a little five year old living out of a garbage bin and fighting off wild cats or dogs with a stick bigger than she was. Her parents had been killed in an FBI raid and she had been tiny enough to hide in the dryer. They never thought to look there." His fingers feathered across her collarbones. "After that, his little group had a new mission and they came to us. Sano was added a few years later when I had to pull him out of a tough situation that involved a drug ring. He was a witness and a inside opinion. It got worse, when two weeks into the job, he brought us a thin female. She wasn't much older than fifteen and was stubborn enough not to say anything until we had promised her the protection we were giving Sano. She was covered in blood, but it was her families and not hers. She had watched them slowly torn apart and wanted revenge." His mouth tightened. "We didn't find out until later that she was a medical protégée and that she had the answer to the drugs Kanryuu had been giving out."

"But?" Kaoru asked softly.

Kenshin shook his head. "Kanryuu fell and things changed. We suddenly had to many people who could be hurt and we shifted tracks, split up out ties. Aoshi took his little group and started something on the streets that is still going. Hiko and I went into a different business and started taking higher risk jobs and Sano and Megumi kept low profiles and quietly enrolled in different schools." He shrugged. "A few years later a case drew us all back into profile and we haven't quite left each other yet."

Kaoru looked down at her book and fiddled with the pages, attempting to ignore the way his fingers felt on her throat. "Why are you telling me this?" Kaoru asked softly. She had never asked.

"When you're ready to talk, I wanted you to know that all of us are willing to listen." He leaned down and gave her a leisurely kiss. "I'm going to start dinner."

Kaoru watched as he walked off and scowled. He had done that on purpose. She was really letting him to close…

Was she?

Kaoru frowned and fiddled with the ring on her right finger. Kenshin had quietly switched the rings on her right hand to her left. Well, the plain band he had placed in a small box on top of the mantel.

Next to it were a set of rings he had picked out for her. He had made his point clear without saying anything at all. She knew that Aoshi had made all the correct forgeries, and legally she was Kenshin Himura's wife. Where they had gotten a JP to sign off…well, she supposed they had forged those as well. It didn't matter. Kenshin was making it known that he considered them married, but would respect that distance until she put the rings on herself.

Not that they weren't living like a married couple. No, not when she needed the reassurances of his body late at night or when he went out of his way to make sure she had everything he needed. The only thing holding her back from actually considering herself as his was her own mental hang up.

'_So what are you going to do about it?_' Kaoru asked herself fiercely. '_He deserves some sort ending to this. You stringing him along because you need him but can you not need him and still manage? Perhaps it isn't the fear of your father coming back that is keeping you up late at night, but the idea that this isn't permanent_.' She chewed on that thought for long moments. '_If that is the case, are you ready or willing to take the next step?_'

To that she wasn't sure. Her stomach rolled and twisted and old fears crept into her heart that she wasn't sure how to deal with. '_Okay…you're scared. That's natural. You examples of happy marriage are not happy marriage…_' Yet…the one time during the day when she wasn't nervous or fighting little fissions of unsurety, was when she could touch him. His arms were a safety that she could count on.

So what are you going to do about it?

* * *

"The first time my father hit me I was eight. He had had a rough day at work and had gotten irritated at the noise I was making." Her words were so soft he had almost missed them. He paused where he was taking the bread out of the oven and then slowly finished the motions. 

"When I was thirteen he beat my mother so badly that she had to be taken into the hospital. She had tried to get us out, but someone had tipped him off." Her words were low. "My father worked for someone who worked in the slave-ring business in some foreign country. When I was fifteen there was a raid…dad came home furious. I was taken into the living room and held while my father…"

"Two days later I disappeared." Her voice was soft. "I covered my tracks using some tricks I had picked up listening to my father talk. I knew he would find me, but I wanted time. He caught up with me twice before the last time, but I managed to get away. I never stayed in one place to long." Her voice was quite. "You changed that."

Kenshin watched her carefully, judging her words. "And now?"

She swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip. Twisting her hair nervously he watched as her eyes landed on his left hand and he knew part of the reason she was so nervous. "Why do you still wear your ring?" She asked him softly.

He tilted his head at her and knew he needed to reassure her. "Because, for me, this is a commitment, Kaoru," he smiled when her eyes swung to his. "This is something I want Kaoru." He took a careful breath and let it out between your teeth. "Does it bother you?" He knew it made her uncomfortable, but he wasn't exactly sure where that uncomfortableness stemmed from.

She dropped her eyes. "I…" her fingers twisted harder against the ends of her braid. She took her own deep breath and let it out. "You want commitment." Her voice was so low that Kenshin almost didn't catch it. "I…I don't know if I will ever be able to give that."

"In what ways," he asked mildly and her head shot up. He met her eyes squarely. His mouth was curved in a self-mocking smile. "I thought we should have had this conversation earlier…" he sighed and took his ring off and set it on the counter. "This ring, Kaoru, is a reminder of the commitment and a warning. A reminder because as long as I wear it, it is a sign to you of what I feel and what I will do to protect those feelings. It's not to pressure you into something you are unsure of. Right now you are hidden behind forged documents and careful blackmailing." He smiled at her. "Until you're ready to change that, then that is enough for me."

She looked stunned. "But…what…I meant…" she struggled to find the words.

He moved forward and cupped her chin in his hands and tilted her head so she had to meet his eyes. "We are in a relationship, Kaoru. You share by bed, you have my heart, and you share my apartment. I want you to be here." His eyes darkened into gold. "I can't say I will ever be able to let you just walk out of the door, but I do understand that you need your freedom just as much as you need a warm body to crawl into bed with at night and hide against. I know that titles and names make you nervous. When your ready and comfortable with the idea of making this something more than what it already is," '_or giving what we have an appropriate title_.' "Then all you will have to do is put those new rings on your left hand. That's all. You won't have to say a word, Kaoru."

She swallowed. "If I am never ready to acknowledge this as more?"

He traced her cheek with his finger. "Do you want me, Kaoru? Do you want to see where this is going and to explore the possible avenues?" When she nodded hesitantly he smiled. "Then that's all I need."

* * *

Authors note: Well, there you go. For those of you who were wanting a complete, happy, well ordered ending, my apologies. Kaoru needs some time to herself and past trama doesn't go away right away. So there. 

Note: The trees are actually Miniature Orange Tress and Weeping Figs. Kaoru got them mixed up.

As always, let me know what you think.


End file.
